Taylorcraft down California

Hengelo said:
Apparently he moved the wreckage… moar popcorn!

https://www.independent.com/2022/01...crash-his-plane-in-the-los-padres-on-purpose/
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Another interesting part from that article:

"Sources inside the Lompoc airport said it appeared Jacob never intended to make the full journey to Mammoth. They described the aircraft as in a state of disrepair and in need of major maintenance. Jacob attempted to complete a few fixes on his own, the sources claimed, but seemed to struggle."
 
An unknown to us (or at least me) is when did they move the wreckage and what had already transpired in regards to investigations by the FAA and NTSB. My understanding is that the NTSB and FAA knew about the accident on the day it happened (November 24) or the following day and started their investigations at that time. The video was posted 30 days later on December 24. It is quite possible that in those 30 days that the NTSB and FAA concluded their initial investigation and released the plane to the owner or his insurance company, which gave them authority to move it Then after the video was released, the FAA & NTSB had second thoughts and would now like to take another look (maybe first look) at the plane, but might not know where to find it. And Trevor boy is probably being mum. Just speculation.
 
I’m impressed that there are still areas of California that are so remote that a guy can dump an airplane, leave it there for some period of time, and have it airlifted out and dropped somewhere, and no one saw any of it happen.
 
OneCharlieTango said:
I’m impressed that there are still areas of California that are so remote that a guy can dump an airplane, leave it there for some period of time, and have it airlifted out and dropped somewhere, and no one saw any of it happen.
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Yeah, it's funny he didn't have six GoPros running for that part of the operation.
 
So, just a weird thought...was there anything really illegal about what he did? I'm just thinking it through and if someone wants to crash their airplane into the side of a hill, that isn't really illegal, is it?

Certainly there is an element of danger in jumping out of an airplane and leaving it to fly itself into the ground. It's irresponsible, but how dangerous is it really in an unpopulated wilderness?
 
Doug Reid said:
I used to like youtube...now, not so much.
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I watch YouTube daily and use it to stay up to date on important events as well as the entertainment value.

There are plenty of crapweasels who post garbage, but I don't watch that stuff. There are aviation related channels I have never heard of and most of the big name channels are not on my watch list...
 
bflynn said:
So, just a weird thought...was there anything really illegal about what he did? I'm just thinking it through and if someone wants to crash their airplane into the side of a hill, that isn't really illegal, is it?

Certainly there is an element of danger in jumping out of an airplane and leaving it to fly itself into the ground. It's irresponsible, but how dangerous is it really in an unpopulated wilderness?
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i dont know about legal consequences for cleanup, destruction of protected wild lands, endangering people on the ground, endangering himself, etc… but certainly if the aircraft was insured and he attempts to make a claim it is illegal. if it was not insured and he does not make a claim i would think this is further proof of his intent.

but the FAA will almost certainly pull his ticket. he broke a number of FARs and they dont have to prove things to issue administrative actions the way you would in criminal court. him having a pilots license is clearly creating a danger to himself and the public.
 
It's quite obvious this was a staged scam for money (YT clicks and the wallet thing).

The multiple cameras to me are a dead giveaway. His buddy's ashes in a sandwich bag? C'mon man!

Insurance scam? Not sure.

If the Taylorcraft was not truly airworthy and he knew it, but took it up for this stunt, he needs to get dragged.

I would like to know the location of the plane now.
 
bflynn said:
I'm just struggling to figure out where a crime was committed
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FYI: It will depend on his intent which way this could go. If this was a true engine failure, the aircraft was truly airworthy, all the rumors are false, and he didn't lie to the investigators, then he may skirt by as a typical mechanical failure. However, anything short of that he can be regulatory violated for any one FAR from careless operation to operating an unairworthy aircraft. But if he lied to the investigators or "willfully caused damage to an aircraft" there are some obscure non-aviation rules and laws that can come into play which can move this up to a criminal act. Throw in the chance of an insurance claim by someone and you get a different route to follow. Still way too early to know but the NTSB file is still "in work" and since this has become a public goat rope I think the powers to be are addressing this in a unique way and gathering the all the evidence which I'm sure is affected by the federal covid protocols.
 
Bell206 said:
FYI: It will depend on his intent which way this could go. If this was a true engine failure, the aircraft was truly airworthy, all the rumors are false, and he didn't lie to the investigators, then he may skirt by as a typical mechanical failure. However, anything short of that he can be regulatory violated for any one FAR from careless operation to operating an unairworthy aircraft. But if he lied to the investigators or "willfully caused damage to an aircraft" there are some obscure non-aviation rules and laws that can come into play which can move this up to a criminal act. Throw in the chance of an insurance claim by someone and you get a different route to follow. Still way too early to know but the NTSB file is still "in work" and since this has become a public goat rope I think the powers to be are addressing this in a unique way and gathering the all the evidence which I'm sure is affected by the federal covid protocols.
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You're judging. I'm asking what the infraction is.

Lying to investigators could be one, as could trying to make an insurance claim, neither of which we know was done. I wouldn't buy that crashing your own airplane is a criminal act, otherwise, there are a lot of people who need to duck for cover.
 
bflynn said:
Which ones?

Don't get me wrong, I think he's an idiot, I'm just struggling to figure out where a crime was committed.
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Here's my big caveat, which is that I don't believe simulating or deliberately creating an emergency then gives you the right to deviate from a FAR in order to respond to such emergency.

Possible deviations from FARs: 91.7, 91.151, 91.203, 91.205, 91.207, 91.307, 91.403, 91.405, 91.409

Definite deviations from FARs: 91.13, 91.15 (I am wondering if dropping the entire aircraft counts, here LOL), 91.105, 91.119, 105.5, 105.13, 105.15

I'm sure there are many, many more. But basically I think it's going to be rather simple to show whether or not he intended to jump out of the plane. If he, in fact, did do that on purpose then he broke all sorts of rules for parachuting, reckless operation, hazard to persons/property, etc... in addition to whatever hanky panky stuff went on regarding the airworthiness of the airplane, accident reporting, wreckage, altering or hiding video, etc...

I don't really have an opinion on whether or not he should be in jail over this if it was intentional, but certainly he should never get behind the controls of an airplane for the rest of his life. Even if he did not stage an emergency, real or not, to cause the plane's engine to quit he responded to the emergency in a way that I'm not sure any other pilot would have done which caused severe hazards to possible IFR traffic, himself, persons on the ground, etc...

And he did all of this to sell some wallets and get a few thousand views? Pathetic.
 
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I would have thought it got more than 370k views. It was on national news (at least in Chicago - a blurb on NBC I think, maybe that’s local) and linked by many other sources.

Other YTers chastising him.

I’m surprised with that much attention it only got 370k views.
 
Nate9191 said:
Here's my big caveat, which is that I don't believe simulating or deliberately creating an emergency then gives you the right to deviate from a FAR in order to respond to such emergency.

Possible deviations from FARs: 91.7, 91.151, 91.203, 91.205, 91.207, 91.307, 91.403, 91.405, 91.409

Definite deviations from FARs: 91.13, 91.15 (I am wondering if dropping the entire aircraft counts, here LOL), 91.105, 91.119, 105.5, 105.13, 105.15

I'm sure there are many, many more. But basically I think it's going to be rather simple to show whether or not he intended to jump out of the plane. If he, in fact, did do that on purpose then he broke all sorts of rules for parachuting, reckless operation, hazard to persons/property, etc... in addition to whatever hanky panky stuff went on regarding the airworthiness of the airplane, accident reporting, wreckage, altering or hiding video, etc...

I don't really have an opinion on whether or not he should be in jail over this if it was intentional, but certainly he should never get behind the controls of an airplane for the rest of his life. Even if he did not stage an emergency, real or not, to cause the plane's engine to quit he responded to the emergency in a way that I'm not sure any other pilot would have done which caused severe hazards to possible IFR traffic, himself, persons on the ground, etc...

And he did all of this to sell some wallets and get a few thousand views? Pathetic.
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Maybe it was all intentional, planned out well, and he had waivers in place.
 
Lindberg said:
Maybe it was all intentional, planned out well, and he had waivers in place.
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Do you honestly believe that the federal government is going to give a YouTube personality a right to crash an unmanned airplane into a national forest? If it started a fire or hurt somebody (which it well could have) it would have been a massive scandal. Where is the incentive for the FAA/US Forest Service?
 
bflynn said:
You're judging.
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No I'm guessing as there is zero credible information out there. Even the NTSB Prelim has zero info.;)
bflynn said:
I wouldn't buy that crashing your own airplane is a criminal act, otherwise, there are a lot of people who need to duck for cover.
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FYI: I said willfully, i.e., with intent, to damage or destroy an aircraft (in flight or on the ground) which is against federal law and in some states as well. So, how many people do you know that intentionally crashed their aircraft? Many? If you'd like to look there are several versions and it's found in the U.S.C.
 
Lindberg said:
Maybe it was all intentional, planned out well, and he had waivers in place.
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FYI: If it was there would not be an NTSB report issued as that is part of the "waivers" given when aircraft are intentionally destroyed in this manner.
 
I suppose there are waivers for deliberately crashing for, say, a legitimate movie. It's remotely possible that he went through that process, the FAA knew it was a hoax before it happened, and he's punked us all.

But from what little I've seen of him, I wouldn't expect him to have that level of foresight.
 
OneCharlieTango said:
I suppose there are waivers for deliberately crashing for, say, a legitimate movie.
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Most of the crash testing is done by OEMs or similar entities as far as I recall. NASA did one years ago. I would think its doubtful a movie production would crash a real aircraft as they're so cheap. Now they'll blow up existing wrecks and replicas all day long. I think one of the cable science shows wanted to crash a real aircraft in flight for "an experiment" but the FAA shot it down. I might be thinking of something else but as I recall they went ahead but in a different country. I just remember reading it in a magazine a few years ago.
 
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