Pilot says Matt Wright wanted flight hours manipulated
Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" died in the February 2022 accident, falling to the ground from a sling beneath the chopper while collecting crocodile eggs in remote swampland in the Northern Territory.
The aircraft then crashed, seriously injuring pilot Sebastian Robinson. Now a paraplegic, he gave evidence at the Supreme Court in Darwin by video link from his wheelchair on Wednesday.
Wright is on trial on three charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice, having pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege he was worried crash investigators would discover that flight-time meters were disconnected regularly to extend flying hours beyond official thresholds and that paperwork was falsified.
Mr Robinson told the court Wright visited him in Royal Brisbane Hospital 10 days after the crash when he was still in very bad shape, heavily sedated with "tubes coming out of me everywhere".
Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC asked the 32-year-old what Wright had asked of him at his hospital bedside and he replied "to manipulate hours on my aircraft".
"He asked if I would consider putting any of his hours, from his helicopter, onto my helicopter."
The court was told Mr Robinson was being asked to put egg-collecting hours flown on Wright's crashed helicopter onto his own helicopter, which was not fitted with equipment for egg collecting.
Mr Robinson said he told Wright he would think about his request and when he made a return visit the next day told him "I didn't feel comfortable doing it".
Wright had also asked to go through his phone and "delete a few things", Mr Robinson said.
At the time he was "scared and panicked" and didn't know who to trust, he said.
The crash and his life-changing injuries had been "the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with in my life".
The court was told Mr Robinson was asked to fly egg-collecting missions in Arnhem Land, where COVID restrictions were in place, because Wright was an anti-vaxxer so could not enter the Indigenous territory unvaccinated.
Jurors heard that Wright visited Mr Robinson in hospital despite requirements to show a COVID vaccination certificate and having to complete a test for the virus.
The charges against Wright do not relate to the cause of the accident and the prosecution does not allege he is responsible for either the crash, Mr Wilson's death or Mr Robinson's injuries.
The trial continues.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
16 minutes ago
- West Australian
Matt Wright trial: Chopper crash survivor Seb Robinson grilled over cocaine texts in court
A young pilot has admitted to supplying cocaine to party with his mates and footy players, while also flying small amounts of booze into Aboriginal communities, a jury has heard. Former helicopter pilot for Outback Wrangler Matt Wright, Sebastian Robinson has denied being a 'drug dealer' after being questioned in court about a series of texts about his wild partying with mates and footy players. Mr Robinson was the sole survivor of a helicopter crash during a crocodile egg collecting mission in a remote section of the Northern Territory on February 28, 2022. His friend and Outback Wrangler star, Chris 'Willow' Wilson was killed in the crash – and three years on, Mr Robinson remains a paraplegic. Their boss, Matt Wright, pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice during the investigation into the crash. Mr Wright has been accused of attempting to hide the under reporting of flight hours. However his defence senior counsel David Edwardson has accused the young pilot of attempting to escape the blame for the catastrophic crash. On Thursday Mr Edwardson accused Mr Robinson of 'sourcing and supplying' the drug from 2018, to the time of the crash. 'You would, from time to time, source cocaine and provide it to your friends and those who wanted to party with you,' Mr Edwardson said. Mr Edwardson read aloud messages from the pilot's friends asking 'are you getting more coke?', 'Seb any chance you know where to get the good stuff?' and 'anyone got bags?'. In one message exchange Mr Robinson told a friend he was 'crook as a dog', with his mate replying 'snorting too much coke out of Matty's arse?'. Mr Robinson said this friend also knew Mr Wright, to which Mr Edwardson said: 'You certainly know Matt Wright has nothing to do with cocaine'. 'Are you telling me you've been snorting cocaine out of Matt Wright's arse?' the lawyer continued. 'No, I'm just saying (he) obviously knows Matt,' Mr Robinson said. Mr Edwardson has previously stated that the reality television star had a 'zero tolerance' approach to drugs. The former pilot was also grilled about a message sent to a mate in November 2019, saying there were 'footy players in town wanting bags'. Mr Edwardson asked if this was in relation to the Richmond AFL team seeking cocaine while in town, but Mr Robinson said he could not recall who he was messaging about. Mr Edwardson also questioned Mr Robinson about texts about 'zingers' and 'pills', but the former pilot said he could not remember the context of the messages. 'Are you implying I'm a drug dealer? … No,' Mr Robinson said. The young former pilot said his mates would sometimes pay him for the drugs, but said at the time he did not believe he was 'trafficking' as it was only a 'very minimal' amount. However Justice Alan Blow explained: 'Look, it is trafficking, even if you're not making any money for yourself.'. 'If you buy some drugs and pass them on to someone else who reimburses you, that's trafficking as far as the law's concerned,' Justice Blow said. After having this explained by the judge, Mr Robinson said 'I understand now'. Mr Robinson said these messages were extracted over an eight-year period, and has told the jury he only used cocaine 'a couple times a year'. Mr Robinson had previously admitted he deleted items from his phone prior to being questioned by crash investigators. On Thursday Mr Edwardson asked Mr Robinson if he removed any messages about his cocaine use, or being intoxicated while flying. Mr Robinson rejected this, stating: 'If I was going to delete something, wouldn't I have deleted it all?'. Trace amounts of cocaine were detected in the pilot's blood, which prosecutor Jason Gullaci said experts were likely to say was from use days before the crash. On Thursday, Mr Robinson — who suffered a traumatic brain injury in the crash — said he had no memory of a mutual friend's birthday party from two days before the incident. 'I have no recollection of the days, the week prior to the accident,' he said. Mr Robinson admitted to flying in booze to remote communities, but said he did not sell the alcohol. He said 'on occasion' he would take a small amount of alcohol under the seat of his chopper for people who worked in Arnhem Land. A video played to the court showed Mr Robinson pouring a mug of Bundaberg rum for a friend and Indigenous ranger in Arnhem Land, and another where he said his friend was 'f--king stoned'. Mr Robinson denied he provided the cannabis, stating: 'There's marijuana all throughout Maningrida'. He maintained that videos of him smoking prior to the crash showed him using tobacco, not cannabis. The cross examination of Mr Robinson is expected to continue on Thursday.
News.com.au
16 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Matt Wright trial: Chopper crash survivor Seb Robinson grilled over cocaine texts in court
A young pilot has admitted to supplying cocaine to party with his mates and footy players, while also flying small amounts of booze into Aboriginal communities, a jury has heard. Former helicopter pilot for Outback Wrangler Matt Wright, Sebastian Robinson has denied being a 'drug dealer' after being questioned in court about a series of texts about his wild partying with mates and footy players. Mr Robinson was the sole survivor of a helicopter crash during a crocodile egg collecting mission in a remote section of the Northern Territory on February 28, 2022. His friend and Outback Wrangler star, Chris 'Willow' Wilson was killed in the crash – and three years on, Mr Robinson remains a paraplegic. Their boss, Matt Wright, pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice during the investigation into the crash. Mr Wright has been accused of attempting to hide the under reporting of flight hours. However his defence senior counsel David Edwardson has accused the young pilot of attempting to escape the blame for the catastrophic crash. On Thursday Mr Edwardson accused Mr Robinson of 'sourcing and supplying' the drug from 2018, to the time of the crash. 'You would, from time to time, source cocaine and provide it to your friends and those who wanted to party with you,' Mr Edwardson said. Mr Edwardson read aloud messages from the pilot's friends asking 'are you getting more coke?', 'Seb any chance you know where to get the good stuff?' and 'anyone got bags?'. In one message exchange Mr Robinson told a friend he was 'crook as a dog', with his mate replying 'snorting too much coke out of Matty's arse?'. Mr Robinson said this friend also knew Mr Wright, to which Mr Edwardson said: 'You certainly know Matt Wright has nothing to do with cocaine'. 'Are you telling me you've been snorting cocaine out of Matt Wright's arse?' the lawyer continued. 'No, I'm just saying (he) obviously knows Matt,' Mr Robinson said. Mr Edwardson has previously stated that the reality television star had a 'zero tolerance' approach to drugs. The former pilot was also grilled about a message sent to a mate in November 2019, saying there were 'footy players in town wanting bags'. Mr Edwardson asked if this was in relation to the Richmond AFL team seeking cocaine while in town, but Mr Robinson said he could not recall who he was messaging about. Mr Edwardson also questioned Mr Robinson about texts about 'zingers' and 'pills', but the former pilot said he could not remember the context of the messages. 'Are you implying I'm a drug dealer? … No,' Mr Robinson said. The young former pilot said his mates would sometimes pay him for the drugs, but said at the time he did not believe he was 'trafficking' as it was only a 'very minimal' amount. However Justice Alan Blow explained: 'Look, it is trafficking, even if you're not making any money for yourself.'. 'If you buy some drugs and pass them on to someone else who reimburses you, that's trafficking as far as the law's concerned,' Justice Blow said. After having this explained by the judge, Mr Robinson said 'I understand now'. Mr Robinson said these messages were extracted over an eight-year period, and has told the jury he only used cocaine 'a couple times a year'. Mr Robinson had previously admitted he deleted items from his phone prior to being questioned by crash investigators. On Thursday Mr Edwardson asked Mr Robinson if he removed any messages about his cocaine use, or being intoxicated while flying. Mr Robinson rejected this, stating: 'If I was going to delete something, wouldn't I have deleted it all?'. Trace amounts of cocaine were detected in the pilot's blood, which prosecutor Jason Gullaci said experts were likely to say was from use days before the crash. On Thursday, Mr Robinson — who suffered a traumatic brain injury in the crash — said he had no memory of a mutual friend's birthday party from two days before the incident. 'I have no recollection of the days, the week prior to the accident,' he said. Mr Robinson admitted to flying in booze to remote communities, but said he did not sell the alcohol. He said 'on occasion' he would take a small amount of alcohol under the seat of his chopper for people who worked in Arnhem Land. A video played to the court showed Mr Robinson pouring a mug of Bundaberg rum for a friend and Indigenous ranger in Arnhem Land, and another where he said his friend was 'f--king stoned'. Mr Robinson denied he provided the cannabis, stating: 'There's marijuana all throughout Maningrida'. He maintained that videos of him smoking prior to the crash showed him using tobacco, not cannabis. The cross examination of Mr Robinson is expected to continue on Thursday.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Crash pilot grilled on cocaine use in TV star's trial
A pilot who was critically injured in a deadly helicopter crash has been grilled over his cocaine use when he flew for reality TV star Matt Wright. Sebastian Robinson was left a paraplegic after the February 2022 crash that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Mr Robinson is giving evidence in the Supreme Court in Darwin at the trial of Wright who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Prosecutors allege the helicopter operator was worried crash investigators would discover flight-time meters were disconnected regularly to extend flying hours beyond official thresholds and paperwork was falsified. Mr Wilson fell to the ground from a sling beneath the chopper while collecting crocodile eggs in remote swampland. The aircraft then crashed, seriously injuring Mr Robinson who is giving evidence by video link from his wheelchair. The 32-year-old has previously admitted to the court that he used cocaine about twice a year. But senior defence counsel David Edwardson KC on Thursday read out text messages extracted from Mr Robinson's mobile phone by police, detailing regular exchanges with friends about the supply of cocaine. Mr Edwardson has previously alleged in the lead-up to the crash Mr Robinson was a cocaine-using "party animal". The text messages from November 2018 to August 2021 included lines from friends asking him if he was "getting more coke" or could he "get good stuff for Chrissy party" and did he have "some Charlie". One message read "footie players in town and want bags", with Mr Edwardson asking Mr Robinson if that referred to Richmond and was he planning to supply them with cocaine. Mr Robinson said he could not recall that message, declined to admit he was trafficking cocaine and said he had never flown helicopters while high. In response to Mr Edwardson's line of questioning Mr Robinson said: "Are you implying that I'm a drug dealer? No". In another message exchange Mr Robinson texted he was "crook as a dog", with a friend texting back, "snorting too much coke out of Matty's arse", in an apparent reference to Wright, the reality TV star. Wright chuckled to himself in the dock when he heard that text message. The jury has heard that 10 days after the crash Wright visited Mr Robinson while he was heavily sedated in hospital and asked him to manipulate flying hour records. Mr Robinson said he declined to do so. The charges against Wright do not relate to the cause of the accident and the prosecution does not allege he is responsible for either the crash, Mr Wilson's death or Mr Robinson's injuries. The trial continues.
