# Pilots, lawyers, etc: Let's talk about Trevor Jacob, YouTuber who may have intentionally crashed his plane for publicity **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2022, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985 "2022-03-13T19:46:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2022, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/1 "2022-03-13T19:46:24Z")
I’ve become unexpectedly obsessed with this story, and wanted to get the views of my fellow Dopers, particularly those with flying and/or legal experience. It was touched on only briefly in the [Great Ongoing General Aviation thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-general-aviation-thread/600499/2504). I’m admittedly a little late coming to it: the incident happened in November, Jacob posted a video about it in late December, and the Internet’s aviation community saw it and blew up shortly thereafter. I only found out about it last week when I watched a video from late January by my favorite aviation YouTuber, Mentour Pilot. Here’s Wikipedia’s summary of the case: > On November 24, 2021, Jacob took off from [Lompoc Airport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lompoc_Airport) in a 1940 [Taylorcraft BL-65](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylorcraft_B), registration _N29508_ , a [light](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_aircraft), single-engine aircraft, claiming that he was flying to [Mammoth Mountain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth_Mountain) to spread ashes of his friend [Johnny Strange](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Strange_(adventurer)).[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-independent-4)[[9]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-ntsb_prelim-9)[[10]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-LoC-10) The aircraft was recently purchased by Jacob and described by sources at Lompoc Airport as “in need of major maintenance”. The aircraft appears to have suffered an engine failure during the flight and Jacob parachuted to the ground.[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-independent-4) The unoccupied aircraft subsequently crashed into unpopulated [scrubland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrubland) in [Los Padres National Forest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Padres_National_Forest) near [New Cuyama, California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Cuyama,_California), and was substantially damaged, but did not catch fire; Jacob suffered minor injuries from the parachute landing and hiked out.[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-independent-4)[[9]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-ntsb_prelim-9)[[10]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-LoC-10) One month later, Jacob released an extensively edited video depicting these events on his YouTube channel.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-NYT_1-23-22-1)[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-independent-4) > > The video drew skepticism from members of the aviation community who believe that the crash was a deliberate [publicity stunt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publicity_stunt), citing Jacob’s unusual actions and the manner in which the video was edited.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-NYT_1-23-22-1)[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-independent-4)[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-Flying_1-21-22-5) The edited footage never shows the aircraft controls and engine instruments after the engine stops running, although a camera had been visible inside the cabin. As Jacob jumps out, the tube fuel gauge shows that the forward fuel tank was at least partially full, and Jacob has an object shaped like a fire extinguisher strapped to his leg inside his pants, an unusual item for a pilot to carry in this manner.[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-Flying_1-21-22-5) Jacob is not seen carrying out basic aviation emergency procedures such as trying to restart the engine, contacting [air traffic control](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_traffic_control), or initiating a [forced landing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_landing) despite potential landing sites being visible. An aviation expert estimated that Jacob could have glided the unpowered aircraft for about 15 mi (24 km) and landed with reasonable safety despite the mountainous terrain. Moreover, the propeller stops turning, which another expert attributed to Jacob deliberately pulling back on the controls for a “dramatic effect”.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-NYT_1-23-22-1) Jacob was flying with a skydiving parachute, which is unusual for pilots of most civil aircraft and difficult in the small Taylorcraft.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-NYT_1-23-22-1)[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-independent-4) In other videos posted to his YouTube channel, Jacob is seen flying without a parachute,[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-independent-4) although in one video, he discusses wearing a parachute for precautionary reasons while flying in a helicopter.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-NYT_1-23-22-1) > > As of December 25, 2021, the crash is under investigation by the [Federal Aviation Administration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Aviation_Administration) (FAA).[[10]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-LoC-10) Jacob may face sanctions from the FAA if his actions are found to have violated aviation regulations,[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-NYT_1-23-22-1)[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-Flying_1-21-22-5) which prohibit flying in a “careless or reckless” manner, or flying an aircraft that is not [airworthy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airworthy) without a [ferry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferry_flying) permit.[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-Flying_1-21-22-5) In a statement on January 22, 2022, Jacob denied having purposefully crashed the aircraft for views on YouTube, stating, “People can believe whatever they choose”.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Jacob#cite_note-NYT_1-23-22-1) [Here’s Jacob’s video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbYszLNZxhM), which he has edited since its initial release and the subsequent furor. I have intentionally not viewed it, since 1) others have excerpted the relevant portions and 2) I don’t want to give him extra views if he really did this as a stunt. You can decide for yourself if you want to click on the link. Here are a few of the other articles and videos I’ve seen about the case: > **[A YouTuber’s Plane Crash Draws Doubts From Aviation Experts (Published 2022)](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/23/us/trevor-jacob-youtube-plane-investigation.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuomT1JKd6J17Vw1cRCfTTMQmqxCdw_PIxftm3iWka3DMDmwZiPkORJSa9lnKf-9hbtA01XGKQ8JdLbUiAeR2x-lSek1rVQSzvpqLkYgEJCNzqZ62Wil--aPxao0C0G2gaHileqA4zaejvhmCPX_tD63Zhid1IRJg9pRkaV2g3ycXz6uUQfp3itF63_gnVpF9RD0QdWLd6amTfhZ6MdyEbx_c7BBnGL0KHGGOwqPPru4IYw5QClnZTXlg4Wxa6NJUO94fPK2XPAd3MYOlwu1XUjo0Wd_vU54hRIHUlKFotKrOqnGPwcm2wvY1F8ZErXzCqbcHvTFIJPLyTc6-bnI&smid=url-share)** > > The video from December shows Trevor Jacob cursing in panic before leaping with a parachute out of a small plane. Some experts wonder if the crash was a publicity stunt. > **[FAA Investigating Controversial Crash Video (Updated) - AVweb](https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/plane-crash-video-sparks-online-backlash/)** > > The FAA has confirmed it’s investigating the circumstances of a video purporting to show the November crash of a 1940 Taylorcraft posted by YouTuber Trevor Jacob. “The FAA is investigating this event,” the agency said in a statement issued Monday.... Aviation YouTuber Trent Palmer: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/724JxkwWqA8/maxresdefault.jpg "Pilot Reacts To Trevor Jacob Crash Video") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=724JxkwWqA8) An aviation lawyer opines: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9PvcXlV45wM/maxresdefault.jpg "Does Trevor Jacob Need a Lawyer? Discussion with Aviation Attorney - InTheHangar") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PvcXlV45wM) Mentour Pilot, who came to the story a little later than some others, and summarized some of the later findings. (This is how I first heard about he case.) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7PgGvl2ZMFs/maxresdefault.jpg "“I Crashed my Airplane” - What can we learn from this? Trevor Jacob React") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PgGvl2ZMFs) There are plenty more [similar videos](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=trevor+jacob+plane+crash). Here are just _some_ of the suspicious aspects of the alleged accident not already mentioned above: - When Jacob bought the plane, it was reportedly not airworthy, and was basically being sold for parts. No record of the plane having passed an current airworthiness inspection has been reported. - Between the time of the sale and the flight, the standard Lycoming engine was replaced with a Continental, whose cylinder heads were painted red to make it look like a Lycoming. No record of this major change to the aircraft being officially logged by a licensed technician has been reported. - Instead of parachuting to a relatively safe landing spot, he freefalls longer than seems necessary and follows the plane to its crash site, where he has a rough landing that causes him minor injuries. He removes the cameras from the plane before hiking out, carrying his sport chute with him despite being in a potentially life-threatening situation. - He had no supplies or water in the plane to recover, and although the nominal purpose of the trip was to go paragliding at the destination, he wasn’t carrying his paragliding rig with him. His regular plane and rig were already at his nominal destination. - He claims that incidents like this are why he always flies with a parachute. Numerous pilots have pointed out that the only time GA pilots normally wear chutes is if they are doing aerobatics or test flying an experimental or otherwise potentially problematic plane. And then the chutes are completely different from the sport chute he was wearing, which was bulkier and less comfortable. Also, in virtually all of his other flying videos, he is _not_ wearing a chute of any kind. - Shortly after the incident, he hired a helicopter to remove the wreckage. This is probably a violation of FAA regulations. He has claimed on his own site that he didn’t crash the plane on purpose, but he has gone silent and declined to comment to any media organization. I haven’t seen _anyone_ attempting to defend him. What’s your take? ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2022, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/2 "2022-03-13T22:06:30Z")
I remember when I first followed this the idea that he bought a scrap plane and fixed it to flying condition but didn’t have it go through inspections made it seem like it was barely airworthy and so this was all a shady insurance scheme. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/3 "2022-03-13T22:14:32Z")
Several people have mentioned insurance, but I’ve seen no sign he insured it or has filed a claim. In the current circumstances it would be pretty stupid to try, if he actually had a policy, and pretty damning to his claim that it wasn’t a stunt if he _didn’t_ make a claim. Presumably, he was hoping to gain viewers, not commit insurance fraud, but I suspect this is not the kind of attention he was hoping for. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/4 "2022-03-14T04:32:05Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Shortly after the incident, he hired a helicopter to remove the wreckage. This is probably a violation of FAA regulations Tampering with the wreckage is most certainly a violation of Federal Aviation Regulations. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/5 "2022-03-14T04:32:50Z")
Waitaminnit – What was the stated purpose of this flight again? Was it to go paragliding at the destination? Or was it to scatter somebody’s ashes? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/6 "2022-03-14T05:14:48Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Was it to go paragliding at the destination? Or was it to scatter somebody’s ashes? Maybe scatter ashes from a paraglider. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/7 "2022-03-14T14:14:58Z")
Yes, the latter. Here’s a question for pilots and aviation types: are pilots or aircraft owners required to insure their planes the way car owners are? I’d expect they would be, given the greater potential for damage and injury. In which case the whole question of Jacob’s insurance status would be significant. Could he simply say he hadn’t gotten around to insuring this plane he’d just bought? Is flying without insurance a violation? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/8 "2022-03-14T14:29:27Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Could he simply say he hadn’t gotten around to insuring this plane he’d just bought? Is flying without insurance a violation? From a quick Google I’d say it isn’t required but heavily encouraged: [EAA: Flying “Naked”](https://www.eaa.org/eaa/news-and-publications/eaa-news-and-aviation-news/news/06-15-2017-uninsured-flying-naked) [Plane Insurance Not Required](https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2019/05/10/airplane-insurance.html) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/9 "2022-03-14T14:38:50Z")
> [@Wikipedia](#): > > Jacob was flying with a skydiving parachute, which is unusual for pilots of most civil aircraft. In other videos posted to his YouTube channel, Jacob is seen flying without a parachute, Can’t speak for Jacob, but this was a plot of a season 6 McMillan (without wife). Mac and a woman friend were flying and they had plane troubles, and they made an emergency landing. He eventually found out (because she was wearing a parachute that day, but not other times) that she intended to bail out and let him die in the crash. Jacob should have watched that episode first. He’d have had a better plan. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/10 "2022-03-15T03:46:01Z")
Thanks. I realized after posting that the answer was easily Googleable. Thanks for doing it for me. It’s pretty appalling that only a minority of states require airplanes to be insured, especially since the articles you linked to suggest that it’s relatively inexpensive. And since the consequences of not having it can be really devastating for innocent pasengers, victims, and even the families of deceased pilots. ---
**Author:** ![ThisOneGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@ThisOneGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisOneGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/11 "2022-03-15T03:59:07Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Could he simply say he hadn’t gotten around to insuring this plane he’d just bought? Is flying without insurance a violation? Not required by the FAA, it may be required by some other entity. My hangar lease requires $1M liability insurance. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2022, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/12 "2022-03-16T03:33:55Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Presumably, he was hoping to gain viewers, not commit insurance fraud, but I suspect this is not the kind of attention he was hoping for. This is pretty clearly an attention stunt, which is why he bought a plane that would get into the air but was otherwise beaten up and cheap. What I find most arresting about the video is not only that he clearly stages the whole thing, which of course he did, but how the guy has this oblivious narcissism to such a sick degree that he posted this video for likes, but didn’t realize how sensationally phony it looks. The bit where he is allegedly terrified of his situation and yet has the presence of mind to film himself after bailing out - I mean, that’s got a whiff of honest-to-God mental illness that a person would do that sort of thing and tell the world “Look! It was all an accident!” as well as just the fact there’s fifteen things about the video that tell you it’s fake and he just never thought about any of them. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2022, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/13 "2022-03-16T06:59:16Z")
I mean the biggest tell ever is just how quickly he jumps after the motor dies despite having SO MUCH ALTITUDE to either trouble shoot the engines or find a nice flat place to land. He didn’t even hit the “This can’t possibly be happening to me!” indecision phase of accident response he just immediately bolted like he had been preparing for it since take off. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2022, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/14 "2022-03-16T12:24:45Z")
I’ve seen two videos of people who used MS Flight Simulator to recreate his “emergency” and did successful deadstick landings on either a flat spot or a riverbed in the area. Another flew his actual experimental light aircraft to the same spot, cut the engine, and glided to a safe landing at the nearest airport, Santa Ynez, with enough altitude and speed to spare that he was able to do a standard left traffic approach (i.e., circling the airport once to let other pilots know your intention to land), rather than just going straight for the runway, which you could do in an emergency. Granted that neither of the sims nor the real plane had the exact characteristics of the Taylorcraft that Jacob flew, but all three tried to mimic the starting point, altitude, speed, and glide ratio of that plane as closely as they could. It’s perfectly clear that Jacob had a lot of time and many more options other than jumping out. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/15 "2022-03-16T20:28:39Z")
If your a pilot in a small airplane and already have a parachute on… well… um we need to back this bus up a bit. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/16 "2022-03-17T01:55:52Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I mean the biggest tell ever is just how quickly he jumps after the motor dies despite having SO MUCH ALTITUDE to either trouble shoot the engines or find a nice flat place to land. He had to have been at ten thousand feet in a plane with a stall speed of like 45 knots. He had all the time in the world. If he’d shown this video to a friend before he posted it I’m sure his friend would have said “if you post this you’re going to jail, bro.” ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/17 "2022-03-17T02:58:59Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > If he’d shown this video to a friend before he posted it I’m sure his friend would have said “if you post this you’re going to jail, bro.” So this was my question, as a nonpilot nonlawyer, I can see how he might lose his license or potentially get sued over this. But if the accusations are true, what felonies did he commit given he didn’t explicitly do this for profit (other than get hits on his YouTube channel, not like he claimed it on insurance or anything, right?) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/18 "2022-03-17T11:59:54Z")
Some of the videos I’ve seen suggested that the fact that the plane went down in a National Park might open him up to some sort of Federal charges, vandalism, endangerment, etc. The lawyer in the video I linked to in the OP doesn’t mention any of that, but he may have been focusing only on aviation law, FAA regs, etc., and not criminal law. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2022, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/19 "2022-03-17T22:25:35Z")
If he’d done it in a less isolated area he’d certainly be in trouble. Thank goodness no hikers or campers happened to be in the area. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985/20 "2022-03-18T01:49:19Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > … the fact that the plane went down in a National Park … I believe it was the Los Padres National Forest - not a National Park. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilots-lawyers-etc-lets-talk-about-trevor-jacob-youtuber-who-may-have-intentionally-crashed-his-plane-for-publicity/960985.md?page=2)