YouTuber sentenced to 6 months in prison for obstructing probe into plane crash
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Re: YouTuber sentenced to 6 months in prison for obstructing probe into plane crash
#2Might as well link to the DOJ press release; the Twitter post doesn't add any useful information:
https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/santa-barbara-county-ma...
Re: YouTuber sentenced to 6 months in prison for obstructing probe into plane crash
#3Critically, he is not going to jail for intentionally crashing the plane. He is being jailed "for obstructing a federal investigation by deliberately destroying the wreckage of an airplane."
Had he cooperated, it's plausible to see him getting away with a license revocation and fine. Instead he did this:
"In the weeks following the plane crash, Jacob lied to investigators that he did not know the wreckage’s location. In fact, on December 10, 2021, Jacob and a friend flew by helicopter to the wreckage site. There, Jacob used straps to secure the wreckage, which the helicopter lifted and carried to Rancho Sisquoc in Santa Barbara County, where it was loaded onto a trailer attached to Jacob’s pickup truck.
Jacob drove the wreckage to Lompoc City Airport and unloaded it in a hangar. He then cut up and destroyed the airplane wreckage and, over the course of a few days, deposited the detached parts of the wrecked airplane into trash bins at the airport and elsewhere, which was done with the intent to obstruct federal authorities from investigating the November 24 plane crash."
Re: YouTuber sentenced to 6 months in prison for obstructing probe into plane crash
#4Might as well link to the DOJ press release; the Twitter post doesn't add any useful information: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/santa-barbara-county-ma...
It really doesn't, and in fact proceeds to screenshot said press release.
For those that can't login to view the thread: https://nitter.net/bnonews/status/1731748816250974335
Re: YouTuber sentenced to 6 months in prison for obstructing probe into plane crash
#5Sentenced not for crashing the plane, but destroying the evidence and impeding a federal investigation. Hope they pull his pilots license if they haven't already.
Re: YouTuber sentenced to 6 months in prison for obstructing probe into plane crash
#6Critically, he is not going to jail for intentionally crashing the plane. He is being jailed "for obstructing a federal investigation by deliberately destroying the wreckage of an airplane." Had he cooperated, it's plausible to see him getting away with a license revocation and fine. Instead he did this: "In the weeks following the plane crash, Jacob lied to investigators that he did not know the wreckage’s location.…
Note, however, that this doesn't mean that he would have gotten away with it if he'd cooperated. It means that the federal prosecutor decided that the act of obstruction would be easier to prove, since the intentional nature of those acts is much more self-evident.
Re: YouTuber sentenced to 6 months in prison for obstructing probe into plane crash
#7Sentenced not for crashing the plane, but destroying the evidence and impeding a federal investigation. Hope they pull his pilots license if they haven't already.
Airmen cert doesn't show up in https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/Main.aspx
https://www.aviationweekly.org/news/pw8d8knj7uroieoxodawivkl...
> In a letter sent to Trevor Jacob by the FAA on April 11th, the FAA said he had violated federal aviation regulations and operated his single-engine aircraft in a “careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.” The agency said it would immediately revoke Trevor Jacob’s private pilot certificate, suspending his license to operate any aircraft.
It would appear the agency has followed through.
Re: YouTuber sentenced to 6 months in prison for obstructing probe into plane crash
#8For me, the really interesting question is not if he's guilty - I had assumed as much - but if he will come out financially successful. That video had millions of views and a sponsorship deal. Call me a cynic, but it seems that some companies will deliberately break the law and pay the price if it's worth it, so why not independent hustlers.
Re: YouTuber sentenced to 6 months in prison for obstructing probe into plane crash
#9Critically, he is not going to jail for intentionally crashing the plane. He is being jailed "for obstructing a federal investigation by deliberately destroying the wreckage of an airplane." Had he cooperated, it's plausible to see him getting away with a license revocation and fine. Instead he did this: "In the weeks following the plane crash, Jacob lied to investigators that he did not know the wreckage’s location.…
Wow, that's a lot of expensive trouble to go through to cover up. I wonder what the penalties would be otherwise - I'm sure there is some kind of code it broke but it's not obviously illegal. It's like me crashing my car on purpose.
Re: YouTuber sentenced to 6 months in prison for obstructing probe into plane crash
#10For me, the really interesting question is not if he's guilty - I had assumed as much - but if he will come out financially successful. That video had millions of views and a sponsorship deal. Call me a cynic, but it seems that some companies will deliberately break the law and pay the price if it's worth it, so why not independent hustlers.
Legal fees alone are going to be many times YouTube revenue. Add lost wages for a half year in prison. Add future lost revenue from sponsors who don't want to be associated with this, and it has to be a huge financial disaster.