News

YouTuber jailed after crashing plane for views

Published

1 year ago

December 7, 2023

editor

A YouTuber has been jailed for six months for deliberately crashing his plane for views, and then lying about it to US investigators.

Trevor Jacob, 30, posted the video of the plane crash in December 2021, implying it was an accident. He ejected from the plane – selfie stick in hand – and parachuted down to land.

The clip was viewed millions of times.

In a plea agreement, Jacob said he filmed the video as part of a product sponsorship deal.

The former Olympic snowboarder pleaded guilty earlier this year to one felony count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation.

Jacob “most likely committed this offence to generate social media and news coverage for himself and to obtain financial gain”, federal prosecutors in California said on Monday.

“Nevertheless, this type of ‘daredevil’ conduct cannot be tolerated,” they added.

In a statement, Jacob said that “this experience has been so humbling” and described the sentence as the “right decision”.

In November 2021, Jacob left a Santa Barbara, California airport on a solo flight with cameras mounted on his plane. Along with the cameras, Jacob took a parachute with him, as well as a selfie stick.

He “did not intend to reach his destination, but instead planned to eject from his aircraft during the flight and video himself parachuting to the ground and his airplane as it descended and crashed”, the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said.

The plane crashed into the Los Padres National Forest 35 minutes after take-off. Jacob hiked to the site and recovered the footage.

He then uploaded the video entitled “I crashed my airplane” to YouTube on 23 December, which contained a promotion for a wallet company, prosecutors said.

Some viewers were sceptical of the crash, noting that Jacob was already wearing a parachute and made no attempt to land the plane safely.

He reported the crash to the National Transportation Safety Board, who said he was responsible for preserving the wreckage. Jacob later claimed he did not know the location of the site.

He did, and returned by helicopter and secured and removed the wreckage, which he later destroyed, the plea agreement states.

The video racked up almost three million views before it was removed. His pilot’s licence was revoked last year.

(BBC)

News

Heavy rains in several areas

Published

2 hours ago

April 11, 2025

editor

The Department of Meteorology says that showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts today (April 11).

Several spells of showers may occur in Anuradhapura, Matale and Mannar districts, the department added.

Meanwhile, showers or thundershowers may occur at several places in Uva province and in Ampara, Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa districts during the afternoon or night, the department said.

Fairly heavy rainfall of above 50 mm are likely at some places in Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle and Matara districts, according to the Met. Department.

Fairly strong winds of 30-40 kmph can be expected at times over Western slopes of the central hills and in Northern, North-central and North-western provinces and in Trincomalee and Hambantota districts, it added.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

In the meantime, on the apparent northward relative motion of the sun, it is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka during 05th to 14th of April in this year.

The nearest areas of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (April 11) are Maningamuwa, Rambewa, Kahatagasdigiliya, Eithala wetunu wewa and Muthur at about 12.11 noon.

News

SL extends financial assistance to Myanmar

Published

12 hours ago

April 10, 2025

editor

The Government of Sri Lanka has extended financial assistance amounting to USD 01 Million to provide relief to the people of Myanmar affected by the recent earthquake.

The relevant cheque was officially handed over today (April 10) at the Presidential Secretariat by the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, to the Ambassador of Myanmar to Sri Lanka, Her Excellency Marlar Than Htaik.

Despite the prevailing economic challenges in Sri Lanka, the Ambassador of Myanmar expressed her deep appreciation to President Anura Kumara Disanayake and the Government of Sri Lanka for this gesture of solidarity and support towards the disaster-stricken people of Myanmar.

Furthermore, the Ambassador extended her gratitude for Sri Lanka’s decision to deploy relief teams and medical personnel during this difficult time. She also noted that such acts of compassion further strengthen the longstanding religious and cultural friendship between Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

The Ambassador also briefed the Secretary to the President on the current situation in Myanmar following the earthquake.

Senior Additional Secretary to the President, Mr. Roshan Gamage, along with officials from the Embassy of Myanmar, Mr. Winh Wint Khaus Tun and Ms. Lei Yi Win, were also present at this occasion.

(President’s Media Division)