LOS ANGELES: A YouTuber pilot who bailed out midair and deliberately sent his plane crashing into the ground to bolster viewing numbers on his channel could be jailed for up to 20 years, US authorities said on Thursday.

In a video seen by nearly three million people and entitled `I crashed my airplane,` Trevor Jacob appears to experience engine trouble while flying over southern California in November 2021.

The dramatic footage shows Jacob, 29, ejecting from the single engine plane selfie-stick in hand and parachuting into the dense vegetation of the Los Padres National Forest.

Cameras placed all over the aircraft show its out-ofcontrol descent into the forest, and its eventual crash landing. Jacob films himself hiking to the wreckage where he appears dismayed to discover the water he packedhas disappeared.

Viewers see him bush-whacking through poison oak and over hills as he seemingly struggles to find civilisation, giving regular updates about how thirsty he is, and how lost he feels. Finally, he stops to scoop water from a stream, and moments later comes across a vehicle and apparent salvation as night falls.-AFP