FAA Pulls Pilot Certificate of YouTuber for Intentional Airplane Crash

Feds say former Olympic snowboarder turned social media star Trevor Jacob faked engine trouble for a stunt.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, April 21, 2022 at 08:22 AM ET

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Trevor Jacob jumps out of his Taylorcraft BL-65. [YouTube Screengrab]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA has revoked YouTuber Trevor Jacob's pilot certificate for operating his aircraft in a "careless and reckless manner" during a highly viewed stunt.
Jacob claimed engine failure and parachuted from his 1940 Taylorcraft, allowing it to crash for a video titled "I Crashed My Airplane."
The incident drew significant scrutiny, with the aviation community alleging the engine failure was a staged publicity stunt, leading the FAA to order Jacob to surrender his certificate under threat of fines and further legal action.

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The FAA has revoked the pilot certificate of YouTuber Trevor Jacob, saying he operated his 1940 Taylorcraft in a “careless and reckless manner” during a highly viewed stunt that led to the loss of the aircraft in a California national forest last November.

In the 13-minute video titled “I Crashed My Airplane,” Jacob claimed the aircraft’s engine had quit, and he was forced to parachute to safety. The pilotless airplane went down in the Los Padres National Forest.