Trevor Jacob

Trevor Jacob (born August 6, 1993) is an American snowboard cross competitor, extreme sports athlete, YouTuber, and former aircraft pilot. He represented the United States in snowboarding in the 2014 Winter Olympics.[1][2][3] In December 2021, he posted a YouTube video in which he parachutes out of a light aircraft claiming engine failure. The Federal Aviation Administration revoked his pilot certificate after determining that he had crashed the plane for the sole purpose of filming it.[4][5]

This article is about the snowboarder and YouTuber. Not to be confused with the footballer Trevor Jacobs or Trevor Jacobs (politician).

Trevor Jacob
Personal information
Born (1993-08-06) August 6, 1993
West Hills, California, U.S.
Sport
Country United States
SportSnowboarding

Athletic career

A native of Mammoth Lakes, California,[6] Jacob competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.[7] He made it to the semifinal of the men's snowboard cross, where he failed to qualify for the final, losing out to compatriot and eventual bronze medalist Alex Deibold by inches; he ultimately finished 9th.[2][8]

Jacob competed in snowboard cross at the Winter X Games in 2014, 2015, and 2016, with a best finish of 5th place in the 2016 competition.[3]

In addition to snowboarding, Jacob has participated in skateboarding, surfing, BMX riding, motocross and mixed martial arts, and was part of Travis Pastrana's Nitro Circus collective.[2][3]

YouTube

Jacob produces videos for YouTube and has become known for skydiving, aviation and snowboarding content. By January 2022, his YouTube channel had over 100,000 subscribers.[1]

Airplane crash

Jacob owned a Taylorcraft BL-65, a 1940 vintage single-engine light aircraft, registration N29508. On November 24, 2021, he took off from Lompoc Airport alone, claiming that he was flying to Mammoth Mountain to spread ashes of his friend Johnny Strange.[9][10][11] The aircraft was described by sources at Lompoc Airport as "in need of major maintenance".[9] Unusually for him when piloting, indeed for pilots of most civil aircraft, Jacob wore a skydiving parachute, which is difficult when piloting the small Taylorcraft. The aircraft was outfitted with several digital cameras to film the flight and Jacob carried a selfie stick.[1][9]

During the flight, the engine stopped running and Jacob parachuted to the ground, suffering minor injuries on landing. He subsequently hiked out and claimed that the engine had failed.[9] The unoccupied aircraft crashed into unpopulated scrubland in Los Padres National Forest near New Cuyama, California, and was substantially damaged.[9][10][11]

A month later, Jacob released an edited video depicting many of these events on his YouTube channel. However it does not show the aircraft controls nor engine instruments when the engine stops running.[1][12] Jacob is also not seen carrying out basic aviation emergency procedures such as trying to restart the engine, contacting air traffic control, or initiating a forced landing despite potential landing sites being visible. These and other unusual behaviors led to skepticism from the aviation community, who suspected that the crash was a deliberate publicity stunt.[1][9][12] The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) both launched investigations although the NTSB does not normally investigate off-airport general aviation crashes that do not involve serious injuries to persons, flight control problems, or substantial damage to property other than the aircraft itself.[11][12]

Jacob denied having purposefully left the aircraft to crash, saying that "People can believe whatever they choose".[1]

In April 2022, the FAA determined that he had indeed abandoned the aircraft solely to film the crash. The FAA cited his opening of the cabin door prior to the purported engine failure; the lack of any attempt to execute an emergency landing, contact air traffic control, or restart the engine; and his personal unsupervised recovery of the onboard cameras and the aircraft wreckage, which he allegedly disposed of. The FAA revoked his private pilot certificate and ruled that he will not be permitted to apply for a new certificate for one year, stating that "your flight … [was] careless or reckless so as to endanger life or property of another".[4][13]

References
  1. Medina, Eduardo (January 23, 2022). "A YouTuber's Plane Crash Draws Doubts From Aviation Experts". New York City: The New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2022. Mr. Jacob, a former snowboarding Olympian turned YouTuber with more than 100,000 subscribers, said in a statement on Saturday that “I’ll happily say I did not purposely crash my plane for views on YouTube.” “Given my background I could see why people would think that,” said Mr. Jacob, who is known for daredevil adventures such as skydiving and snowboarding in Iceland. “I’ve been filming everything I do since I was 5 years old... People can believe whatever they choose,” Mr. Jacob said.
  2. "Trevor Jacob". teamusa.org. United states Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  3. "Trevor Jacob's official X Games athlete biography". Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  4. Medina, Eduardo (April 20, 2022). "A YouTuber Purposely Crashed His Plane in California, F.A.A. Says". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  5. Helsel, Phil; Stelloh, Tim (April 21, 2022). "YouTuber who jumped from plane caused it to crash in order to record video of it, FAA says". nbcnews.com. NBC News. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  6. Small town, big Olympians; Mammoth Lakes home base for six Sochi athletes Archived January 20, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  7. "Trevor JACOB | Snowboard | United States – Sochi 2014 Olympics". m.sochi2014.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  8. Dillman, Lisa (February 18, 2014). "Sochi Games: Trevor Jacob misses men's snowboard cross final by inches". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  9. Starkey, Jun (January 4, 2022). "Did YouTuber Trevor Jacob Crash His Plane in Los Padres on Purpose?". Santa Barbara, California: Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved January 21, 2022. Perry pointed to other red flags that suggest Jacob choreographed the event. In the video, Jacob implores viewers to always wear a parachute while they fly and credits his for saving his life. But “wearing a parachute is difficult when you’re flying a plane that small,” Perry said. “It would require removing the seat cushion or some other modification.” In several other YouTube videos that feature Jacob piloting small aircraft, he’s shown without a parachute.
  10. National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Preliminary Report (Report). National Transportation Safety Board. WPR22LA049. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  11. "AVweb — FAA Investigating Controversial Crash Video". Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  12. Godlewski, Meg (January 21, 2022). "FAA Investigates Former Olympian". Flying. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  13. Niles, Russ (April 20, 2022). "FAA Revokes Certificate Of YouTuber Who Crashed Plane". AVweb. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
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