Im a private pilot and trained paratrooper with 177 military jumps to my name. One thing I tell all student pilots: Make sure you always fly with a parachute, selfie stick and multiple cameras shooting from every possible angle. And always jump right out of the plane at the first sign of trouble.

Wow, he’s so calm under pressure…he even remembered his selfie stick when he jumped out 🙄

Trevor vastly underestimated the intelligence of the public.

Imagine that dead friend knowing that his ashes were used in a such a scandalous stunt..

Ex-Paratrooper here. In my experience, the only people who wear a parachute into a aircraft are those who know they are about to jump.

I’m a skydiver and I can promise you if this went to trial for whatever reason and I was on the jury there’s no way you could convince me he didn’t set this up. He deserves to lose his pilots license and his skydiving license.

As an 18 year wildland firefighter, I'll say this. If that plane started a fire in that brush below him he would probably never got out before getting cooked.

Just saw this on the news today: A KZfaqr who intentionally crashed an airplane for views will plead guilty to obstructing a federal investigation by cleaning up the site of the crash, US prosecutors say. Trevor Jacob, 29, posted the video of the plane crash to KZfaq in December 2021. It has over 2.9 million views to date. In a plea agreement, he said he filmed the video as part of a product sponsorship deal. He could face up to 20 years in prison.

I'm not a pilot, but I'm someone who frequently takes my family hiking in remote locations, so if y'all could please refrain from letting perfectly good airplanes auger into the ground wherever physics and chance happen to point them, that'd be great...

That fact that he filmed the freefall so nicely tells me all I need to know.

I also am a private pilot. I'm 65 and been flying small craft virtually my entire life. I hold single engine land and rotorcraft. I'm not going into depth on this as I watched it originally when it was pointed out to me and I called it staged and purposeful then. Even with an engine failure the guy had a lot of altitude and little reason to bail out.

As a PPL holder he would have known about the windmilling effect but the fact that even in a purportedly preplanned crash, him forgetting that it would incriminate him makes me wonder if he was high on something. He probably unlatched the door before he shut down the engine just in case the door got jammed after. Everything you have mentioned in this video is spot on.

Your break down was spot on Trent. Another stunt that will give my insurance carrier a reason to raise my rates.

Emergency pre-departure checklist … let’s see… “Skydiving parachute - check” “Unlatched door for dramatic exit - check” “Selfie stick - hell yeah check!”

Can we also talk about how he just had what was supposed to be perceived to be a terrible flight that ended in terror and chaos, and he still decided to go paragliding?

He’s about to be sentenced to 20 years for that deliberate airplane crashing.

“This is why I always fly with a parachute!” The man has literally never flown with a parachute.

I used to do photogrammetry for awhile (derive camera locations from photographs and take measurements). The location of the engine out occurred at 34°48'56.59"N, 119°59'19.97"W at 9,400 feet +/- 50 feet horizontal and vertical. 2 miles northeast is a flat bare area (only a right turn 45°) with 1000 feet of landing area. 2.5 miles northwest is a 1700 long, beautiful, slightly sloping plateau covered in grass that looks like you could land a Cirrus uphill. This would have been the first thing you see looking out the left seat. 7.5 miles southwest is farmlands and roads. This would be cutting it close but losing 1000 feet in a 180° turn, that would have left a 10:1 glide ratio. He would have passed over them 3 minutes prior.

This just in... The FAA revoked the clowns license.... a complete fraudulent video. This guy is correct!!!

Trent, you nailed it. 40 mph…LOL. My stepfather has “crashed” two Taylorcrafts, one in Arizona and one in Michigan one engine failure and one high wind gust on landing; In both cases he put the planes on the ground with zero damage to man or machine. They are super light with huge wing. This guy made a cringeworthy attempt at a stunt and needs to face FAA repercussions.

RIP that faithful good ole plane. Breaks my heart to see it perform well even til the end. It didn’t deserve this miserable ending.

You are SPOT ON with your analysis and comments Trent.

Somehow stumbled on to this site/video. I've never heard of this until now. I am in the midst of getting a private pilots license and to see him acting the way he does ... it honestly boils my blood. I'm not even 100% invested in this hobby and the way he carries on to me is inexcusable. Judging by his video, the plane did a better job flying on it's own than it did with him. I hope there are charges brought up to him for this, serious charges. He had no way to know where that plane would end up after he abandoned it but he made sure he left himself plenty of time for a parachute drop.

As a military aviator and all the regs we have to follow I really hope this guy serves time.

I think the FAA should pull his certificate.

Trent Palmer read this man like a book

Update: He's facing 20 years lmaooo 🤣🤣🤣

Hi, I am a private pilot from Argentina, in my early sixties. When I saw the video of this "accident", I was really furious. I had two engine failures in my twenties, a J3 and a C-150. In both cases I could land with no scratch to the airplanes or myself. I recently purchased a Bristell LSA, and the dealer asked me if I wanted the optional parachute for the aircraft. My answer was no, it has wings, I'll put it somewhere if the engine fails. Thanks for this analysis, I hope this guy pays for the damage to the aviation community.

Been a pilot for 22 years, have a graduate degree in aviation management. Spent my entire adult life studying and enjoying aviation. This video absolutely floors me. I enjoy Steveo, Patey, 310 pilot, Baron pilot, your channel, and a whole host of others. Y’all are true ambassadors for the aviation community. I hope the FAA and NTSB breaks it off in his @$$!

The FAA has spoken, and this jerk has been grounded. Unfortunately, we'll probably see him jumping out of slow moving go-carts.

I feel sad for the plane 😔 I know nothing about aviation, and I’ve seen in the comments that the plane seems quite sh*t, but I still feel sorry for it. It’s like it’s been a sacrificial animal to this idiot’s ego

Very good points raised Trent. I’ve also been tagged on this one but it’s more in the GA domain so I’m happy you took the lead on this. I agree with all the points you raised and could probably add a few more red flags if needed. Great job and happy new year man!

As someone who cannot afford a plane in a million years, it just breaks my heart to see that beautiful plane go down like that.

My heart hurts a little for the plane. I know that’s weird. What a waste. I’m sure if it had feelings it didn’t want to crash. It wants to FLY. Then I think of people who have crashed (not by choice) & how horrifying that was. This is just egregious on so many levels. He wasn’t guaranteed there was not humans or animals on the ground. This makes me sick

The way Mr Palmer slid into the ad right after discussing the lack of tact in Mr Jacob's ad was simply *e x c e l l e n t*

Breaks my heart to see that the aviation community lost such a nice classic aircraft.

You’re spot on Trent. As a pilot and RV-4 owner I find what he did totally irresponsible and puts a black mark on aviation as a whole. No wonder aircraft insurance keeps going up. I hope the FAA comes down hard on this guy.

As an ATC, he could’ve tuned into the emergency frequency. Didn’t even bother look for a place to land or try and solve the emergency. I hope more is done than his license being revoked.

You’re very good. My wife & I just watched this & you did a great job explaining. I’m not a pilot so when I watched the video I didn’t spot any of the stuff you pointed out. Except for that selfie stick. You called this one. That guy should have his license permanently revoked.

11:58 I think we all know why he wanted to get to the plane first. He wanted to collect his cameras because there was probably evidence on them.

He said at 12:23 "I have no idea where I am" which is pure nonsense. He's a pilot. He planned his flight route. He knows the heading he was on. He knows how long he was flying. He knows he got out of the plane on the left side. He *absolutely* knows roughly where he is, enough that he should be able to say "okay I don't know my precise coords, but I know if I walk that-a-direction for X hours I'll find a road." If he's *so* prepared for a plane crash that he brings a parachute, why wouldn't you plan your route in exquisite detail so you know exactly where you are?

Love your sponsor transition and the contrast you make with Trevor’s

It really hurts to see that faithful plane flying on on its own and doing its job.

A few years ago I was in an Uber that Trevor was driving and we were in a hail-storm. I closed my eyes but a huge thud suddenly jarred them open... To my surprise Trevor had jumped out of the car and left me in the back with no driver at 40mph heading down hill!

Good breakdown of the video, Trent. All I can think about is that little airplane lasted over 80 years, flew thousands of hours and maybe hundreds of thousands of miles, only to have some social media personality kill it for a YT video. It would have been a great gift to a young pilot who would have cared for it and appreciated it.

Ladies and gentleman, we got him.

Lol your authentic as hell Trent I liked your advice for Trevor at the end 😂

The first thing that came to mind for enforcement is 91.13: Careless or Reckless operation. If this was intentional, it was reckless in my eyes. I haven't heard a single instructor in non-acro aircraft say that bailing out is an option more attractive than flying it to the crash site. I hope the FAA investigates this fully.

let's face it the guy is losing his license but he also needs to be charged, he is basically spitting on the flying community

I thought that was weed in another video. I didn't see the beginning where he's talking about the ashes. I just see him pull out the bag and hold it up to the camera grinning like he was about to blaze up. 😂😂

I like that he never took the headset off.

As an Airline Pilot and Lawyer, I see, and agree, that the aviation community will pay a heavy price for what appears to be nothing but click-bait. Creating a situation like this goes to a deliberate intent, or in law, Mens Rea,….The criminal mind….criminal intent. That intent could have caused a fire, injury or damage to nature or private property. I hope you don’t lose more rights due to a selfish idiot….take care, Trent!

I've worked in aviation for 12 years, and this absolutely screams premeditated. The only guy I know who flies with a parachute is 70 something and flies and Extra. Shoot, just a couple months ago a trainer had to crash land after running out of fuel. The guy was fine, the plane was destroyed. There have been many mishaps over the last 12 years, and not one involved the pilot jumping out of the plane.

As a 15 Year old future pilot (hopefully) why did he even jump????? That plane could have landed in a lot of places around there, plus all the dangers of letting your plane free fall On a real note, he obviously let it happen

I love how you ripped on him for poor ad timing and then came back with a perfectly timed comedic ad 👍🏻😂🤣

I skydived for 15+ years and was an instructor. What is surprising is the parachute still has the risers attached and the RSL locked meaning the main canopy is either packed into the container OR he's pulling it behind him and in that bush it's not possible. either he would have had to cut away the main canopy (losing the risers) or ditch the rig entirely. So he packed his parachute and hiked to the crash scene to recover the cameras and footage? I think too this is insurance fraud and a viral video exploitation. I'm guessing he was at 10,000ft with that much freefall and time under parachute.

In addition to the door being unlatched, the fuel line being removed from the starboard wing, the suspect editing, and the odd piloting after the "engine issue", I would say that poor acting is the biggest give-away. If you watch other legitimate engine failure videos, you can see a fairly common reaction between GA pilots which is missing here. I think it would be nice to have access to the uncut video sources (or if anyone has done a frame-by-frame to see if the engine was shutdown - either by fuel starvation or electrical suppression). *IF* it is shown to be a hoax (and that's where my money is placed), I hope he loses his pilot's license, gets a stiff penalty, and if the plane is insured, prosecuted for insurance fraud. Could not agree more that such an act makes it SO much more difficult for the average folks just trying to do the right thing.

2:02 I'm glad he brought that Ridge Wallet. Ridge Wallet: Keeps your money safe when you crash your plane on purpose for them.

That ad placement was absolutely legendary

Man, I hated to see a beautiful little airplane thrown away like that. Something that sailors, motorcyclists and pilots all have in common is that you don't give up and toss your vehicle away like trash. You drive it, fly it, guide it to the crash, using what skill you have to avert disaster all the way to the final stopping point. You never give up. This sure looked planned. Very painful to watch.

I had an engine failure at 9500' flying out of MOB years ago. An inexpensive part broke and sheared off the fuel line in the engine. We declared an emergency, established a proper glide attitude and landed safely at a nearby small airport. It was scary, but luckily no big deal. NOBODY carries a parachute unless they plan on using it. Trevor Jacob is a tool and better get the Vasoline ready for what the FAA is about to do to him.

I love it when my True Crime interest leads me to very specific parts of KZfaq. Never thought I’d be here but I’m happy to attend 🙃

I don't subscribe to channels because I saw one good video. I think this is the fifth video of watched of yours and I've liked them all. You got another subscriber. Keep up the good work.👍

That skillshare plug was murder. Nicely done Trent.

"I don't wanna just go out and do super clickable stuff or really over-sensationalize everything I do" man that's why I watch your videos. You're doing honest aviation content, for all of us who dream about flying that's what we're after. Or at least, what I'm after.

Thanks for pointing more stuff out that I didn't notice. What I did notice was the perfect camera setup the way it was completely documented, the nice landing spots that were visi le and the landing near the plane.

One thing I noticed is - every aviation content creator records their audio via headset which makes talking and listening in the cockpit a whole lot easier. He didn´t bother to set up any equipment to make the "normal operation" part of this flight watchable. That was another giveaway.

Those were my exact thoughts too. Too fishy to believe it wasn't preplanned.

As a pilot who has been flying since I was 7 years old (I am 52 now) I can honestly say you assessment of this jerks video is spot on. They should revoke his license and never let him fly a GA plane ever again. You can estimate his altitude by counting the time he was in free fall and when he popped his chute. He didnt follow any of the basic ABC's taught to student pilots within the first 5 hours of flight training and he purposely endangered people on the ground. Looking forward to checking out some of your other videos.

So, after an engine out you're NOT supposed to use the mnemonic ABCDE? A) Asseverate profanities, B) Bring together all your gear (selfie stick, parachute, go pro, fire extinguisher, wallet, etc.) C) Clear yourself from the plane D) Delete the evidence from the authorities and E) End up in prison.

Happy(ish) ending to the story: Trevor Jacobs pled guilty and was sentenced to 6 months in federal prison. However, this was only for obstructing the FAA's investigation and not the crash itself, and somehow he even had his pilot's license REINSTATED So in my opinion he got off with little more than a slap on the wrist

Y’all missed the two fire extinguishers he had attached to his legs when he jumped. He was also wearing hiking boots, the fact that he had supposedly been out there for 8 hours+ when he found the water he took two little sips and didn’t drink anymore because he knew it would make him highly sick. And the greatest part was just as he collapsed to his knees to give up he heard this magical moooo sound. So apparently those farmers keep cows out in this area that has little to no grass, no water access, and that lone moooo cow saved his life. What an idiot.

The problem with Jacobs making an aviation video where he employs the classic "they won't notice" strategies in filmmaking and tailoring it for a general audience, is that because it's an aviation video it will also be watched by a bunch of sticklers and nerds and they'll immediately see right through it. Like WHAT was he thinking!?

An insult to the men who jumped into action at night on 5 June 1944. What a tool.

I heard Mentour Pilot said that the little plane had a nickname when it was owned by a flightschool, the name was Patches, a sweet little plane that deserved a better closure then Trevor gave her.

Trevor Jacobs KZfaq channel is FULL of him telling stories of hus life. And now with the release of this video, people are going to question the authenticity of every single story he tells or has told.

"The following checklist is to be carried out at high altitude under perfect flying conditions only." 1. DO NOT attempt to stabilize plane for optimum glide conditions or look for a landing spot. 2. DO NOT attempt to verify / check / set any engine related controls. 3. Ensure that multiple attached go-pro cameras over plane body are all recording. 4. Feign panic while verifying cylinder is strapped to leg and skydiving equipment is correctly attached. 5. Verify that selfie stick is recording and bail out of plane. 6. DO NOT forget to plug your sponsor and attempt to get sweet footage on the freefall. 7. Profit.

Wow, you wrapped that ad in there perfectly! Smooth..

When I first watched his video, I thought there were more red flags flying than there are in a traffic construction safety equipment factory. I didn't even notice the already opened door the first time around either. And that yoke action as he tries to get the prop to stop. You mentioned two interior cameras, well OF COURSE we didn't get to see THAT footage because it would show him turning the mags off and/or pulling the mixture all the way back. The only reason I could think to head back to a 'plane after it "touched down" would be to get the ERB going, find survival gear, see if the radios are still working to call out, or to sit by the wreckage to be easier to get found by searchers. But, then again, I would ALREADY be at the crash site because like an NORMAL pilot, I would have ridden the plane down for a dead stick landing with hopes of keeping it upright and/or the landing gear attached. And, like you said, he was high enough to fly for quite a while to find a good spot, or even put it down on that road that looks as good as any dirt strip I've even set down on. Speaking of that altitude, we sure didn't see any of that footage either, as he probably spent a good 45 minutes clawing his way up to that height. I carry an InReach, and I'm sure a lot of other people do too, so cell phone service is a non-issue. Besides which, while you're trying to restart, you call ATC and declare an emergency, and should be the first step. If it restarts and you're good, you can update ATC. But, like you said, the door's already open for his "engine failure" and staged bailout, so he certainly isn't going to get on the radio.

As a GA pilot, having 25 years in a Skyhawk, I immediately called fraud on Trevor Jacob's video when it first posted. I sincerely hope as much punitive and legal action as possible is taken against him. I would also wonder whether it is possible to petition the FAA/NTSB directly, although I suspect that isn't possible without some sort of legal assistance and representation. Nonetheless he is a disgrace not only to aviation, but also that YT should ban him for life.

I love his KZfaq-friendly “oh my gosh” excited utterances.

That ad segue you did was absolutely ruthless

19:18 The following 30 seconds were priceless

“Emergency landings are meant to save lives, not airplanes.” I am definitely using that quote. With permission, of course.

Never discount yourself as “just” a private pilot, be proud of your journey getting there!

Imagine that guy hiking in the woods seeing a plane coming at you

He wanted the buzz, he got it. Hope he can handle the consequences. Reminded me the guy who fell doing a stunt, he wasn't that lucky though. "Daredevil falls to his death from 62-story building""

It´s also mind boggling that he didn´t even try to asses the situation and restart the engine. As soon as the engine flamed out, his first action was to open the door and prepare to bail out, even though he had plenty of altitude and time to work the problem and contact the ATC.

I have been following a few aviation channels where pilots talk about various things in regards to basic aviation safety and so on and so forth, and what strikes me as the biggest red flag is that he didn't even do anything to try and restart the engine, actually control it beyond his blatant pullback on the yoke, or do anything whatsoever to save the aircraft and get back on the ground safely. It was just "Okay, engine stopped. I'm out!" and having a selfie stick after you bail out just screams "I want attention!" instead of "I was genuinely concerned about safety". Good coverage, and I commend you for being as fair and transparent as possible.

11:20 - 9-1-1 does work if your phone is disconnected for non-payment/not set up to make a phone call, etc. However, the call will *NOT* connect if the cell phone can't connect to a cell tower/network. (Similarly: 9-1-1 will work on a landline shut off for non-payment, etc, but won't work if someone physically cuts the wire going from the house to the utility pole.)

Lol to the skillshare segway. That was a master class in transitioning to an ad read.

I am a pilot in Microsoft Flight Simulator and I concur. But I also don't even know how to turn off my engines, so take that as you will.

Man! This hurts me! I've struggled trying to get funds to get my license, I've started but had things come up so had to stop, and to see a plane go to waste and for that reason!!! It could have been used for people like me to finish getting our license! This whole situation is like a slap in the face and a kick back down a rung for people getting into aviation!!! So sad!! Thanks Trent! Spot on!!

You missed the comedy of him underestimating the bush and overestimating his survivalist skills 😂😂

I can see that you were actually in pain watching that crash just as I was. Such a beautiful machine...

I call BS on this one on so many levels! As both a pilot and a skydiver myself.....a Mirage jump rig is NOT the emergency rig I would be flying with. There are so many red flags in his video that this is only believable to the most gullible. In addition to the valid points you make, I immediately noticed the pre-opened door, the fact that he appears to be more focused on looking at the left strut camera than looking for a possible emergency LZ, and the fact that he pretends to be panicking over his “emergency situation” yet has the time and piece of mind to make sure he doesn’t forget his left wrist GoPro? And I completely agree with you that there’s a very high chance he could have gotten a Taylorcraft slowed down enough to put it into that gravel wash and a survivable crash landing. I am not wavering on this BS call. Good breakdown Trent.

Lots of people commenting on the loss of the aircraft. I love to cycle and walk in terrain like that. The probability may have been low, but allowing an aircraft to drop from the sky like that puts lives on the ground at risk. Highly irresponsible. I hope he comes to realise a pilots licence is a responsibility and a privilege, not a right.

Just the intentional crashing of a perfectly good antique aircraft is a crime in itself. With a stall speed of around 30mph, any decent pilot could have landed that in 100 ft. I'm happy they revoked his license.

Great job, Trent!

One thing is certain: if he wanted to attract attention, he reached his goal.