The video with the title "I Crashed My Plane" begins with a pilot in a small plane flying over the Los Padres National Forest in Southern California.
The propeller stops. Mr. Jacob jumped out of the plane with a parachute and a selfie stick in his hand, after unleashing a flurry of expletives and opening the door.
He says in the video that he was found by a farmer at dusk after he had been in the forest for at least six hours. He found the wrecked plane in a thicket of shrubs.
Immediately, viewers and aviation experts expressed doubts over his portrayal of the crash. They claimed that it was orchestrated for views and likes and that several steps Mr. Jacob took were evidence of a publicity stunt.
The nearly 13-minute video uploaded to Mr. Jacob's channel in December has more than a million views. The uproar grew louder.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board investigate plane crashes. The agencies wouldn't comment on their investigations.
Mr. Jacob said in a statement on Saturday that he did not crash his plane for the sake of getting more views.
Mr. Jacob said that he could see why people would think that. I have been filming everything since I was 5 years old. It was the same as any other day for me to document this trip.
He said that he flew that day to spread the ashes of Johnny Strange over the top of a mountain. Mr. Strange died while BASE jumping, an extreme sport in which people parachute from a fixed structure.
Mr. Jacob said that people can believe what they want. They have the freedom to do that.
Some pilots and aviation enthusiasts believe that Mr. Jacob staged the crash in order to cheapen their hobby.
It is a image.
Mr. Jacob landed in prickly brush after jumping from his plane.
I looked at the video and thought it was stupid. Why did he do that? The Los Padres National Forest and surrounding areas have been visited by a flight instructor for nearly four decades. There were a lot of things that made me think this was a mistake.
He said that you don't fly a little airplane with a parachute.
Mr. Jacob would have had to remove the seat cushions to fit in the skydiving parachute, because the small plane he was flying had very little room to maneuver. It was not clear if Mr. Jacob did so.
Mr. Jacob said that he always flies with a parachute because of his safe landing.
He could not be seen with a parachute while flying in earlier videos. He mentioned that he wore a parachute on a helicopter in case something went wrong.
Aviation experts said that wearing a parachute under the seats is unnecessary.
Many small airplanes, such as Mr. Jacob's, can be landed safely from a high altitude when they malfunction. They can glide to a landing at about 40 miles an hour, with pilots often suffering only minor injuries.
He could have landed even though he was over the mountains. He could have glided 15 miles into a meadow or road after watching the video.
The video was all very convenient and questionable according to an aviation lawyer based in Los Angeles.
The propeller stops? If Mr. Jacob slowed the aircraft, that would create a dramatic effect. There was no attempt to restart the engine and Mr. Jacob was not heard calling air-traffic control. He said that the actions of someone were seemingly not in danger.
He didn't do any of the things that a new pilot would do.
The F.A.A. will try to determine if the pilot acted appropriately or if they violated the regulation after the National Transportation Safety Board finds a cause for the crash.
The video still angers pilots.
He said that no reasonable person would fly an airplane with the intention of jumping out and allowing the aircraft to fly off in the distance. It goes against everything a pilot stands for. Safety is of paramount importance.
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