(RepublicanInformer.com)- The FAA revoked Trevor Jacob’s, YouTube daredevil and former Olympic snowboarder, private pilot’s license after the FAA concluded he intentionally crashed an aircraft into a California hillside.
The FAA investigated Jacob’s accident in November 2021 after he uploaded a 13-minute video of himself parachuting out of a tiny aircraft that he said had malfunctioned.
The FAA decided Jacob “violated federal aviation standards” and “operated the single-engine aircraft in a negligent or reckless way endangering the life or property.”
Officials promptly canceled his private pilot license, barring him from flying.
Jacob posted the video on his renowned YouTube channel on Christmas Eve.
To attract more ‘clicks’ and go viral, the adventurous athlete manufactured the November 2021 accident, according to the edited 13-minute video, which covers Jacob’s short flight, parachute drop, and hours-long walk across harsh terrain.
Last week, the snowboarder addressed the incident in the first edition of his podcast Trevor Jacob Adventured.
The FAA cannot prosecute Jacob since it can only revoke or suspend certifications and penalties. The organization ordered Jacob to return his certificate and threatened him with ‘additional legal action,’ including a daily fine of $1,644.
If investigators find Jacob guilty of a crime, the Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General may prosecute him. On Jacob’s November 24 trip, the department said it couldn’t “confirm nor deny the existence of an inquiry.”
On November 24, Jacob was flying his new Taylocraft BL64 single-engine aircraft from Lompoc City Airport in Santa Barbara, California.
In the video, Jacob says he’s going to Mammoth Lakes to scatter the ashes of his buddy Johnny Strange, who perished in a BASE jumping accident in 2015.
In the early clip, Jacob smiles and gives a thumbs up to one of the several cameras on board his jet. The Taylorcraft plane’s solitary engine seems to lose power and stall, and its propeller stops turning after 20 minutes.
Jacob opens the door, yelling expletives. He scrambles out of the aircraft and opens his parachute. His plane hovers in the air before crashing into the Los Padres National Forest hills. The aircraft’s cameras film the collision.
The former snowboarder complains of scratches and wounds in the bush but is grateful for his fortunate escape.
Jacob decided to ditch mid-flight when his plane’s engine failed and let it crash since there was “no safe location to land.”
He wanders in the darkness until he meets a farmer and pleads for aid.
The daredevil returned to the airport a few days later to tell the story of his doomed jet. After being told that the FAA would have to be notified, Jacob reportedly hired a chopper to retrieve his Taylorcraft’s wreckage.
Viewers slammed Jacob’s footage immediately after posting it on December 24, claiming he staged the incident.
Some commentators believed his parachute aboard the plane was a preplanned stunt, which the FAA concurred.
The FBI also highlighted additional critical circumstances that substantiated Jacob’s alleged deliberate aircraft crash.
The FAA claimed Jacob’s opened the left side pilot door before claiming the engine failed. The FAA accused the YouTuber of failing to call emergency services and failed to restart the plane’s engine. Even though there were many sites within the gliding range where he could have made a safe landing, he did not try to identify one.
In their letter, the FAA said he chose to jump out of an airplane expressly to film the video of the accident. Jacobs lacks the degree of care, judgment, and responsibility needed of a certificate holder.
Following the inquiry, the FAA revoked Jacob’s pilot’s license, claiming he was a threat to others and “never belonged in the sky.”
