The FAA has confirmed that Trevor Jacob, the California pilot who intentionally crashed a Taylorcraft for a YouTube video two years ago, has been issued a temporary pilot certificate. “His pilot application is working its way through our standard process. He has a temporary pilot certificate. You can read more about temporary certificates here,” the agency said in a statement. Temporary certificates are good for 120 days and are commonly issued after a student pilot passes a checkride and is waiting for a permanent certificate. In Jacob’s case, his certificate was revoked in April of 2022 and he was eligible to apply to get it back a year later. In a video he posted last week he says he passed the written exam and did a checkride on June 17.
The video, entitled “I Got My Pilots (sic) License Back! But Going To Prison….,” was posted a day after he was sentenced to six months in a federal prison for hiding the evidence of his stunt. The flying segment was apparently shot before his sentencing. The video appears to be about all the things he will miss when he’s in jail and includes about two minutes of flight footage. It also features introspection about jumping out of the airworthy classic single festooned with video cameras and following it down to its demise in a desert valley northeast of Santa Barbara. There’s no apology in there. He said the staged crash was on his “bucket list” since he was a child and that since the incident he has “become a man.”
Volunteer his ass to a 3 year hitch in the infantry.
Would you trust him with a single shot .22, let alone an actual assault rifle? Is he the sort of loser that you’d want protecting U.S. interests?
You are confusing the US with Russia….
The least Trev could do at this juncture is to not put the pup at risk who is not equipped to make an objective choice to risk flying with him.
Disgusting. Doesn’t appear to have learned anything. Big cheesy smile and posting it all up again. It’s all about Trevor and his perceived following. One man’s impression. I didn’t watch the linked video.
I hit the like button on this post, if AvWeb had one.
Growing up is hard to do for Trevor, evidently.
Failing upwards is a thing in the USA
Is it just me, or did he get his flying privileges restored faster than Bob Hoover?
PS – the pilot shortage must be real if this clown can get his certificate back.
Yea, he did 🙁
Should be barred for life. Intentionally crashing a plane once should be enough proof of lack of responsibility to keep him out of a cockpit forever. Nobody knows what else he might have on the grow-up bucket list in his warped mind
Wasn’t it his own airplane? If it was his own airplane that he wanted to destroy and it was done over the desert, or non-populated area, then what is the problem with it?
Scumbag. Should have been taken away for life.
Personally, for that stunt he should’ve lost the privilege to get a license for life. (And yes, it’s a privilege, not a right)
No, flying is not a privilege. We aren’t subjects, we’re citizens.
The fact that one has to obtain a pilot certificate to fly means by definition it is a privilege not a right.
So many stories much more worthy to be featured, but I bet Russ just wanted to get the ire going in us. It certainly did for me!
Seriously? This is what you gathered from this article? This Child should not have been given a 2nd chance at a FAA certificate. Russ is sharing this and the responses agree with my statement. Judgement plays a huge roll in attaining a certificate especially when it’s time to get an ATP. This child is only interested in how many likes he receives and how much money he will make from said likes.
Susan, the last thing I need to do is “get the ire going.” It’s going all the time. This is news, plain and simple and that’s the only reason I ran it. That it prompted some very thoughtful comments instead of just “ire” is a delightful bonus.
Not sure that most of these comments are thoughtful. What is worse- what he did or killing your passengers by making a reckless poor judgement? So much pure hatred expressed. Kinda sad.
‘Not sure that most of these comments are thoughtful.’
You’re right, probably why Russ said some were, not most.
But a lot is at stake nowadays for GA, and when something like this incident happens from a shallow youtube narcissist, with absolutely no regard for how his stunt will affect GA, that is what’s sad, very sad.
His stunning self-absorption can have a very negative ripple effect as many of us in GA know full well, so emotions can get the better of some of us who are trying to keep flying privileges a part of our lives and for future lives.
Pure hate? Not likely, but we are living with too much anger nowadays, I will concede.
It just doesn’t take much these days to generate “outrage”. Outsiders could conclude that the wealthiest country on the planet is full of angry people.
Nope. Good to know the scumbag will be back in the air, so he can be avoided by real pilots.
Must be a lot of Youtubers working in the Airman Certification Branch in the FAA’s Oklahoma hive.
Yes, this clown, as Kirk said sgrillo stated above — he received his certificate faster than Bob Hoover did.
A real joke…
Take a look at the FAA Form 8710-1, section IV (4), which states “Have you previously received a notice of disapproval, or been denied for any reason for the certificate AND/OR rating for which you are applying?” He must answer “Yes” or if he didn’t, this means he falsified a Federal Application.
This response of a previously revoked certificate would draw the attention of Airman Certification *and* the Federal Air Surgeon for an assessment and determination revolving around at least the following:
CFR 67.3: A person who meets the medical standards prescribed in this part, based on medical examination and *evaluation of the person’s history* and condition, is entitled to an appropriate medical certificate.
In today’s environment of people endangering life and property by “shutting off fuel of an airborne airliner”, it is not a stretch at all to conclude a person that places himself and others in physical jeopardy cannot be eligible for a medical certificate with a record of questionable and/or wanton psychiatric behavior.
14 CFR 91.13 – Careless or reckless operation. (“… endanger the life or property of another)
CFR 68.7 (xvii) Psychiatric (appearance, behavior, mood, communication, and memory) …
Yes. And what a horrible message this sends to the public.
That is incorrect. His certificate was revoked and it doesn’t ask about that.
How in the HELL did he “know” he wouldn’t hurt someone?
I am not surprised at his resorting to the “god’s will” line so many brainwashed morons use but I am VERY Concerned that he seems to have picked up the “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters” arrogance that suggests if you are a big enough celebrity and have a large enough mindless angry cult following you can defy laws, The Constitution, and morality and not just survive but thrive.
Recognizing the challenges they face daily from the swelling ranks of criminals and anarchists I try not to criticize the government or the FAA but one or the other should’ve been able to ensure that at the very least, this cackling clown is never again a PIC.
This is absolute proof that the FAA is a “JOKE’.
A DPE signed him off, that’s why it’s a temporary certificate. Now OKC gets their review.
I doubt it will pass muster.
My question is, what CFI would ever sign him off, let alone come within 100 feet of him? My guess is someone who is off the grid and never heard of him.
If he met the standards on the written, oral and practical the examiner must sign him off. To do otherwise would be pejorative.
This.
That’s why I was asking about the CFI who signed him off, not the DPE. No CFI is ever obligated to train an individual.
This is stupid. There are more competent, useful pilots who have had more of a fight getting their certificates back than this total narcissist clown. FAA, and whoever specifically made this decision, you should be ashamed of yourself. People lose their careers for seeking treatment for depression, but this abject narcissist can flit around in his toys after deliberately crashing an airplane. risking starting a wildfire. This guy should never have been allowed to fly again.
Narcissism is a societal disease. One sees it in the proliferation of tattoos and Youtubers trying to earn a living without really working. It’s another consequence of moral decay and screwed-up families. Boys growing up without fathers who normally would set their sons on the right path. Moms, government and Ritalin are no substitute for the tough love of a good father.
Trevor’s father, Jerry Jacob, was quite present and supportive of his son during Trevor’s childhood and training for the Olympics.
Trevor has always been an extreme risk taker, bragging that’s he suffered 20-25 concussions during his snowboarding career (his parents say it’s more like “4 or 5”).
http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-xpm-2014-feb-16-la-sp-sochi-mens-snowboard-jacob-20140217-story.html
I would guess OKC ‘Aerospace Medicine’ would be interested in the 25+ concussions? Unless he ‘forgot’ about that on his medical application…🤬
Please don’t put all YouTubers into the same catagory as this screwball. Many of them work very hard to produce their videos and provide and share their knowledge and skills. Trevor is not one of them.
BS!
“He said the staged crash was on his “bucket list” since he was a child and that since the incident he has “become a man.”
Really…….
I’d say a mandatory four year stint in the Marines would change his mind…
Here’s the problem guys…with millions of little “Jack Ass” fans out there that have nothing better to do than sit and watch YouTube videos of stupid people doing stupid stuff, stupid people like this will keep making stupid videos for the stupid crap they’re doing, and make a living out of it. All of us that see this for what it really is won’t make a dent in getting rid of it by not clicking and watching (I didn’t watch this video). I have several hundred hours in a T-craft, and would have loved to have had his rather than seeing it intentionally destroyed….great airplane.
Had to check my calendar to see if it was April the first. It wasn’t.
He states that he wanted to crash a plane since his childhood. That substantiates that he is mentally unfit, and a final airman certificate should be denied by the FAA.
Agreed.
Darn straight!!
This is a travesty. This narcissistic fool should never fly again.
If there was any consequence for him that should have been a no-brainer, disallowing him regaining flying privileges for a significant stretch of time, if not permanently, had to be at the top of the list, but no… Maybe he used shrooms and a mental health issue as his excuse. I hope his lady friend has a parachute. And Lady – find out of they make chutes for dogs. Just a heads-up.
We shouldn’t promote complete revocation and ban on licenses/privileges/rights without due process.
He had his license suspended following the incident, he went through the established process to regain a temporary license and exercised his rights with that rewarded temporary license. All of this occurred before final judgement by a judge, which is totally fair, and we should be applauding that his rights weren’t taken away before his day in court.
Now that he’s been found guilty, absolutely, serve the sentence and place a ban on his certificate for as long as the judge/jury sees fit.
What clueless (or more likely greedy) CFI signed him off?
A. Hopefully this jackass will regret posting the video with the dog and his little sister.
B. I wonder if “going to the graybar hotel” is on his bucket list?
C. We can all help Trevor in his future in aviation by NOT clicking his videos. He then might have to get a job.
An expression I heard recently goes like this…”the average person isn’t that smart, and half the people are dumber than that”. In my world, it isn’t a matter of if, but when some fool will try to ruin my day. The Trevor Jacob’s in this world aren’t going away. There aren’t enough sensible people any more to regulate people like this or ignore them to the point that it makes an impression. You must simply be vigilant and protect yourself. It’s all you can do any more, short of not leaving your house.
If only my two sons had had such high aspirations: I could be living off of their YouTube fortunes! Instead, they’re just normal, emotionally stable, situationally aware, common sense individuals, an apparent minority these days. I kick myself for not exploiting them via nascent social media 20 years ago!
Why is this idiot still getting “celebrity” attention.
If he’s been fantasizing about crashing an airplane since he was a child, he might have some type of mental illness that could disqualify him from holding a medical. I don’t mean to shame those with mental illness – that’s not my intention. Rather, to point out that you would not let a pyromaniac work in the match factory. Perhaps this gentleman should not be allowed to fly until he is given a thorough mental evaluation and is deemed not to be a danger to himself or others.
I wish AvWeb would stop linking his videos. All he’s after is clicks, and he’s laughing all the way to jail.
Not sure how I could write a story about a video without showing the video.
Russ- Yes you could have avoided linking to his video! Just paste in a still or better include text only, with a note explaining the decision to avoid promoting further clicks and revenue.. Those who really wanted to watch more of him could easily find the video on their own. AVWEB isn’t obligated to avoid expressing some opinions even in news reports, and clearly the readers have strong opinions that this jerk doesn’t deserve the renewal of his privilege to fly again.
To what end, John? Make it harder for readers to see the foundational basis for the story? AVweb and all other news outlets worthy of the name are absolutely obligated to keep opinion out of news stories and skewing coverage to match whatever opinions we might personally have will not happen here.
Ignore the haters, Mr. Niles. Your reporting is appreciated.
You’re confusing ‘hating’ with constructive criticism. That’s the problem with society today.
Right – “Anything I disagree with is HATE!” Misuse of the term continues to diminish its true meaning.
I can’t believe the FAA is stupid enough to give him back his license. This is a SLAP in the face to the rest of us who try to do the right thing. HE SHOULD NEVER HAD GOTTEN HIS LICENSE BACK. I am simply disgusted by the FAA’s total ignorance in this case. This idiots comments on the above You Tube video show he has clearly learned nothing from all his “problems”. Poor baby. I hope he meets BUBBA in prison and gets some”learnin.” I’m a CFII and would never have signed anything off for him. What good is the FAA if they can’t police the ranks better than this ???????? What a SAD joke this is !! He’ll probably die in some accident before he is 30. Good riddance.
Yes, I’m using the internet to complain about the internet, but here’s how I see it:
Trad. media is like representative government. Social media is like mob rule – whatever gets their attention.
This guy is a vivid example of the destructiveness of social media (YouTube, et al), where you get paid for how many people you captivate. Nothing gets more attention than breaking the rules.
The only reason this story keeps coming up is due to the attention Mr Jacob gets. No attention, no story. So my final comment on this is “big deal, who cares”!
It’s no big deal if he is never allowed to fly again; just another idiot proving they don’t deserve the privilege of flying. However, if his temporary certificate IS allowed to stand, that is a big deal and a huge slap in the face to all other rules-abiding pilots.
It’s not even so much the stupid premeditated act of jumping out of an airplane and letting it crash, but the fact that he then intentially covered up the evidence and lied to investigators about it, indicating that he knew what he did was wrong. And if that wasn’t enough, he then bragged about it, demonstrating that he didn’t learn his lesson from it, so there’s no guarantee he won’t do something like this (or worse) again. And next time, he might actually kill or injure someone else.
I’m not sure I’d trust him with a young girl or a puppy.
What a self-centered, egotistical, irresponsible jerk. Whatever age he is, he still has a child’s immature brain and no impulse control.
Yet, the government, and the FAA in particular, wonders why they fall between “used car salesman” and “infomercial actors” on consumers “least trustworthy jobs” in the U.S.
Clicking his video is paying and supporting him. Don’t.
Giving him any ticket before he atoned for his crime is not wise. It is earned, not a right. He has NOT earned it.
I would ban him for life, he was over 18.
I expect to see him hawking “prison wallets” soon.
I watched the video to see what he had to say for himself. I thought it was only fair. I suggest even the most vehement of you do that as well – it is only proper to give someone an opportunity to explain themselves.
That being said…
The level of arrogance and lack of self awareness coupled with the facial expressions when talking about the “bucket list” aspect of this scare me. This guy is either a nut job or so completely disconnected from real world society, that at the point of time this video was recorded I believe he was a threat to himself and others. That there was no psychiatric component to the trial process is shameful to the court system. This guy needs help.
I’m with the folks who think that the sentence should have been 4 years in the US Military. When I was a kid that sentence saved a lot of young men who were half a bob off plumb behaviorally speaking. Unfortunately that is no longer an option as the military will no longer accept applicants in that situation. But it sure would have been good for him.
The level of arrogance and complete lack of awareness of the real world are upsetting. We can only hope that 6 months in the slam will straighten out his head a little. Since it’s not long enough for him to lose his social structure, that’s very unlikely, but optimism is often its own reward. I did see glints of possibilities in there but maybe that’s more my watching than his video. Hey, his dogs like him.
The big issue for me now is who the heck signed him off? The DPE I can’t fault because although many do fail applicants who passed because they need to fail someone, in this situation it would be ethically bankrupt to a degree hard to live with for even the least ethical person. It’s another situation where being high profile has advantages; like Alec Baldwin…
But that CFI doesn’t understand what (s)he is there for. Further (s)he has very poor judgement. Worse yet (s)he has damaged the overall credibility of CFI’s as a whole. We all tend to assign to CFI’s a certain trust. This situation removes the ability to do that. Any given CFI could be an “air whore” who will sell their signature without any ethical consideration.
This guy does not need to be flying over people. Aviation is full of “personalities.” we all know it’s one of the weaknesses of the pursuit. But this is one personality that needs to be eliminated from the pool, before he does it himself and takes some innocent folks with him.
Wonder what else is on his bucket list?
The guy is going to FPMITA prison, not jail. You guys want some street justice, figure out who the biggest baddest dude in the prison is. Fill his commissary account with cash. Stack his cell with Ramon and cigarettes and tell him to give Trevor the special treatment. Make sure you get a GoPro in there so Trevor will have some more content for his FaceTube channel.
Well, I can see we’ve certainly established one rock solid way to upset a lot of pilots.
Sad. When so many commercial and military combat pilots (myself included) can’t qualify for an FAA medical due to a correctable disability, this buffoon flaunts a loophole in the system to allow him freedom to fly an airplane. He has no clue of the sacrifices therein, trust me. Maybe he will get a wake up call in prison.
Maybe…
RR
He’s a scum bag, never should be allowed to fly again.