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Former Olympic snowboarder Trevor Jacob has been sentenced to six months in prison for intentionally crashing his plane for YouTube views.
Jacob, who made it to the semifinal of the men’s snowboard cross at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, pleaded guilty on June 30 to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation.
According to a Department of Justice press release, “On November 24, 2021, Jacob took off in his airplane from Lompoc City Airport on a solo flight purportedly destined for Mammoth Lakes. Jacob did not intend to reach his destination, but instead planned to eject from his aircraft during the flight and video himself parachuting to the ground and his airplane as it descended and crashed.”
After informing the the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) about the crash, Jacob then lied to investigators about the plane wreckage’s location.
Instead, he moved the wreckage a hangar using a helicopter and cut up the plane, disposing of it “into trash bins at the airport and elsewhere.”
Trevor Jacob also lied to federal investigators on the aircraft accident incident report and to an FAA aviation safety inspector when he said the airplane’s engine had quit.
“It appears that [Jacob] exercised exceptionally poor judgment in committing this offense,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “[Jacob] most likely committed this offense to generate social media and news coverage for himself and to obtain financial gain. Nevertheless, this type of ‘daredevil’ conduct cannot be tolerated.”
On Monday night, he wrote on Instagram, “Two years ago I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane and let it crash into the ground, took some bad advice, and decided to remove the wreckage. Today I was sentenced to 6 months in Federal Prison.
“Thank you to my unconditional loving family and friends,” the 30-year-old continued. “You know who you are, and who you aren’t. My incredible lawyer, and Federal Judge Walter, for understanding the truth of the situation, and giving me a second chance at life.
“This situation could have been a lot worse, and I am extremely grateful I am here to talk about it. I look forward to teaching our youth from my mistake, and the lessons I have learned from this, it has changed me as a person forever, and therefore, I am so excited for this next chapter of implementing those changes into society for the better.
“I made a video about this on my YouTube channel if you’d like to watch it. Always wear your parachute my friends. Much love.”
“Nice post! You almost took accountability! Congrats!” one person responded to Jacob’s message.
“And still fishing for views. #noshame,” read another comment.
Trevor Jacob first made national headlines in 2012 when he claimed to have landed what the first-ever double backflip on a skateboard. That claim was disputed by multiple veteran skateboarders.
Shortly after landing the flip, he was arrested in Stark County, Ohio for railroad vandalism and criminal trespassing after being discovered hiding under a tarp on a westbound Norfolk & Southern train while he and a friend were skateboarding across the country.