An American YouTuber Crashed A Plane On Purpose For A Viral Video, According To Officials

What would you be willing to do to go viral? American YouTuber Trevor Jacob has reportedly lost his license to operate an aircraft, after an alleged stunt ended with him parachuting out of his plane after he says it malfunctioned.

Jacob, a former Olympic snowboarder, documented the incident in a 13-minute long YouTube video called "I Crashed My Plane."

In the clip, his plane's propeller seems to stop mid flight, prompting him to jump out of the craft, before parachuting to safety.

Later, he tells the camera, “I’m just so happy to be alive.”

However, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) claims that the crash was done on purpose.

Reported by The New York Times, an FAA letter to Jacob read that he operated his single engine plane in a "careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.”

Additionally, the FAA claims that the influencer didn't do what was expected of someone who was in an emergency situation, such as contact air traffic control, look for a place to safely land or try to restart the plane's engine.

“During this flight, you opened the left side pilot door before you claimed the engine had failed,” the FAA added.

It also pointed out unusual aspects of the video that suggest the crash was on purpose, such as flying with a parachute on, something that is uncommon in aviation.

These pieces of evidence caused the organizaion to revoke Jacob's pilot license, which means he is no longer permitted to operate any aircraft.

After the crash, the agency says Jacob also “recovered and then disposed of the wreckage."

In the letter to the YouTuber, the FAA concluded that his "egregious and intentional actions on these dates indicate that you presently lack the degree of care, judgment and responsibility required of a certificate holder."

As of April 24, Jacob has over 134,000 subscribers on Youtube. The video of him "crashing" the plane has over two million views.

In one video after the incident, the pilot told his followers, “I can’t talk about [what happened], per my attorney.” He later added, “But the truth of that situation will come out with time,” he added, “and I’ll leave that at that.”

In another YouTube video, posted on April 23, Jacob responded to the flurry of coverage. "I didn't know that posting a video of an adventure gone south would ruffle so many feathers," he said.