Netflix star's $10k offer for crash survivor

Perth Now

9 hours ago

An Aussie reality television star offered the family of his paraplegic pilot $10,000 to help during his recovery in the wake of a catastrophic chopper crash, a court has been told.
The mother of Sebastian Robinson has accused Netflix and Apple TV reality star Matt Wright of pressuring her 28-year-old son to manipulate flight records after the helicopter crash on February 28, 2022.
Mr Robinson was the sole survivor after a Robinson R-44 crashed into a paperbark swamp over the King River, Arnhem Land during a crocodile egg collecting mission, killing his friend and 34-year-old father, Chris 'Willow' Wilson. Croc egg collector Chris Wilson was killed, while his pilot Sebastian Robinson was critically injured in a helicopter crash on the King River, West Arnhem on February 28. Credit: News Corp Australia
Their boss and the star of 'Outback Wrangler' and 'Wild Croc Territory' Mr Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
It is alleged Mr Wright knew the helicopter should never have flown that morning, as it had overrun a 2200 flight hour maintenance requirement.
Mr Robinson, along with his brother, uncle and mother have all alleged Mr Wright visited Brisbane Hospital to ask the critically injured pilot to move 'a few hours' from the crashed helicopter's records to his personal R-44.
On Wednesday, Mr Robinson's mother confirmed Mr Wright offered her family $10,000 to help with their bills during his first visit on March 11.
'That is another example of how he was trying to help you, your family and Sebastian, wasn't it?' Mr Wright's senior defence counsel David Edwardson asked.
'No,' she replied. Pilot Sebastian Robinson during filming of Kane Chenoweth's documentary Sky Cowboy in February 2022. Credit: Supplied
Mr Robinson's mother said they declined Mr Wright's $10,000 offer, saying 'we told him we didn't want it'.
Ms Chellingworth's diary records claimed on that same visit, 'Matt Wright came in today and tried to persuade Seb to put hours on his helicopter'.
Over two days of evidence, Mr Edwardson has accused Ms Chellingworth and her two sons of putting 'your heads together and made these false allegations against Mr Wright'.
She denied Mr Edwardson's accusations she forged her diary records. Seb Robinson's mother Noelene Chellingworth approaching the Supreme Court in Darwin, giving evidence at the trial of Outback Wrangler Matt Wright on Wednesday August 20. NewsWire / Pema Tamang Pakhrin Credit: NewsWire
The jury heard Mr Wright had not covered any of Mr Robinson's medical expenses and he has been unable to access worker's compensation.
In emotional testimony, his mother recounted how doctors initially told her that her son was 'unlikely to survive that night'.
The Darwin mother described the relief, and then grief as her son woke up from his coma only to be told he would never walk again.
'I was so devastated,' Ms Chellingworth said through tears on Wednesday.
'I said to God: 'Why? You let me have a quadriplegic brother that I cared for for 20 years, and now I've got a paraplegic son'.
'He must have given it to me because I could handle it.'
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She said her son was an adventurous, active and outdoorsy young man who had been crocodile egg collecting for almost a decade, but after the crash Mr Robinson faced the real prospect he would never work again.
'He wasn't going to be dropped in a wheelchair to collect eggs, was he?' prosecutor Jason Gullaci said.
Ms Chellingworth said following the crash she got legal advice, but was told her son could not receive any workers' compensation as he was an independent contractor, rather than Mr Wright's employee. Seb Robinson's mother Noelene Chellingworth approaching the Supreme Court in Darwin, giving evidence at the trial of Outback Wrangler Matt Wright on Wednesday August 20. NewsWire / Pema Tamang Pakhrin Credit: NewsWire
The jury was shown two versions of invoices from Mr Robinson for his Wet Season flights, prepared by Ms Chellingworth after the crash.
The first invoice detailed each individual flight Mr Robinson took that egg collecting season, which Ms Chellingworth said she sent to Wild Harvest NT director Mick Burns.
A second $21,500 bill was then sent to Mr Wright, only providing monthly totals for the flights.
Ms Chellingworth's diary included an entry on March 13 alleging it was Mr Wright who asked her to re-invoice the bill with less detail for her son's egg collecting season.
'Matt doesn't want days on his invoice, only monthly totals,' Ms Chellingworth wrote.
She denied Mr Edwardson's accusations she forged that diary note and only filed the second invoice to Mr Wright 'in the hope that you might be able to claim workers' compensation under his insurance policy'.
The trial continues.
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