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The eagerly awaited trial of TV personality Matt Wright has exposed the rugged culture of helicopter operations in the crocodile-infested regions of the Top End.
The star of Outback Wrangler has denied three allegations of attempting to obstruct justice.
These accusations stem from a helicopter accident in February 2022 which led to the death of Wright’s friend and co-star Chris “Willow” Wilson, who was on a crocodile-egg gathering mission in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.
Pilot Sebastian Robinson, who became paraplegic after the crash, has undergone three days of rigorous questioning in the Darwin Supreme Court, appearing via video link from his wheelchair.

Wright’s legal team has characterized Robinson as a cocaine-using “party animal” who frequently violated aviation regulations, including tampering with flight-time meters.

But the jury has heard that Wright also disconnected meters and falsified maintenance releases and pilot logbooks to match, and told his pilots to do so.
Such practices were commonplace across the helicopter industry in the territory, jurors have been told.
Wright also allegedly allowed Wilson, a trainee pilot, to take the controls of helicopters with pilots who were not trained instructors, in a breach of aviation regulations.
Prosecutors allege Wright was worried after the crash that investigators would learn his choppers’ meters were regularly disconnected to extend flying hours beyond official thresholds and that paperwork was falsified.

The charges against Wright are not related to the crash’s cause, and the prosecution does not claim he is liable for the crash, Wilson’s fatality, or Robinson’s injuries.

A man in a black shirt outside court

A helicopter accident in February 2022 resulted in the death of Wright’s friend and co-star Chris “Willow” Wilson, who was on a crocodile-egg gathering mission in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. Source: AAP / AAPIMAGE

The key accusations against Wright are that he asked an associate to “torch” the maintenance release for the crashed helicopter, he lied about the amount of fuel in the machine’s tank and that he tried to get Robinson to transfer flying hours from that machine onto his own.

The jury has heard of the dangers of egg collecting where a man on a sling line beneath a chopper is lowered onto croc nests in remote swamps, with perhaps a handgun to protect against female reptiles protecting their nests.
Senior defence counsel David Edwardson described those involved in helicopter croc-egg collecting in the Top End as being “thick as thieves”, having each other’s backs amid the dangerous work they did.
Family members of Robinson are expected to give evidence next week on whether Wright tried to pressure him to manipulate flight records.
Edwardson has told the jury there were serious questions of credibility surrounding testimony from the family.
Robinson has admitted to cocaine use and supply but has told the court he never flew helicopters while high.
He has vigorously denied the helicopter crashed because it ran out of fuel.
The trial has been going for two weeks and could go for another three before Acting Justice Allan Blow.
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