Netflix star's pal ‘took crash pilot's diary'
Mr Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice during the investigation into a chopper crash that killed his co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson on February 28, 2022.
It has been alleged Mr Wright engaged in a 'pattern' of failing to accurately record flight times for the crashed helicopter to avoid costly maintenance requirements.
Prosecutor Jason Gullaci has alleged Mr Wright knew, and attempted to cover up, the helicopter carrying his two friends and employees should never have flown that fateful morning due to these service requirements. Outback Wrangler Matt Wright is being supported by his wife Kaia Wright at the trial. NewsWire / Zizi Averill Credit: News Corp Australia
Sebastian Robinson, the pilot and sole survivor, was allegedly visited by work friend Tim Johnston in his Brisbane Hospital room days after the catastrophic crash.
On Friday, his brother Jacob Robinson told the jury a stranger, Mr Johnston, introduced himself as Mr Wright's colleague and asked for the injured pilot's phone and a book.
'It just looked like a diary. I wasn't too sure,' Jacob said.
He alleged Mr Johnson said 'Matty sent him to grab it' and 'We really, really need the logbook'.
Jacob said he 'felt pressured' into giving him the book, but refused to hand over his brother's phone.
'As soon as I gave it to him, he's pretty much took off,' Jacob said.
He said as soon as their mother, Nolene Chellingworth, returned she 'started crying and said I shouldn't have done that'.
'Hallucinating'
Jacob said Ms Chellingworth called Mr Johnston back, and he returned the pilot's book.
On Monday, Mr Robinson's girlfriend Rhanii Lee said she also remembered the 'very emotional' Mr Johnson asking for Mr Robinson's book before leaving.
Mr Robinson said he was still heavily sedated, under a lot of medication and 'hallucinating' when Mr Wright and his wife Kaia allegedly visited him 11 days after the catastrophic crash, on March 11.
The paraplegic man alleged his boss asked him to transfer a 'few hours' from the crashed chopper — with the call sign IDW — to Mr Robinson's personal Robinson R-44, call sign ZXZ.
'He mentioned something about CASA and then potentially transferring hours over from IDW to ZXZ. Croc egg collector Chris Wilson was killed, and pilot Sebastian Robinson was critically injured. Source: Supplied Credit: Supplied
Mr Robinson has conceded he was 'behind a few entries' on his personal chopper's maintenance release, missing almost three months of entries back to early December.
But Mr Wright's defence senior counsel David Edwardson said the young pilot was 'hopelessly behind' on his paperwork.
He said Mr Robinson was under Mr Wright's Air Operator's Certificate, and as such his boss was 'ultimately responsible' he was compliant with aviation laws.
Mr Edwardson suggested Mr Wright was making sure his pilot's records were 'up to speed', but Mr Robinson maintained he was asked to manipulate his records.
The young pilot has acknowledged he initially lied to air crash investigators because he was 'worried and panicked' about his own underreporting of hours.
He said it was 'common practice in the industry' — including at Mr Wright's Helibrook — for pilots to not record flight hours and to disconnect the Hobbs Meter, similar to a car's odometer.
'I worked for Helibrook and all the aircraft were never kept up to date,' he said.
The now paraplegic pilot with a traumatic brain injury revealed to the jury he has not received any workers' compensation in the wake of the crash.
He said since he started as an egg collector at just 18 years old, he was led to believe he would be covered as a subcontractorof Wild Harvest NT.
'I was led to, everyone was led to believe that everyone in the egg collection was covered by worker's compensation,' Mr Robinson said.
'As I progressed into flying I always assume that ... WHNT covered everyone's worker's compensation, that I did not need to have my own worker's compensation.'
Mr Robinson said when he took off the morning of the fatal crash, he believed he would be covered either by WHNT or Mr Wright's Helibrook.
Now bound to a wheelchair, Mr Robinson said finding out he would never walk again was 'the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with in my life'.
'Learning that you've got a severed spinal cord... you can't think, you can't say, you know, you're scared,' he said.
'I wouldn't wish that experience upon anyone'.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
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"You're making this up as you go along," he said, with Ms Chellingworth replying "No I'm not". Mr Edwardson said Wright was simply helping her son get his paperwork up to date as he had a responsibility to do so as he was flying under Wright's air operators certificate. The jury has heard that Mr Robinson's flight records were not up to date. Mr Edwardson put it to Ms Chellingworth that her family colluded to try to "deflect the blame across to Mr Wright" to avoid Mr Robinson being blamed for the crash. "I do not agree at all," she replied. Ms Chellingworth admitted her son had asked her to source marijuana and she had forged his signature from time to time when helping him run his helicopter company. Earlier on Tuesday Mr Robinson's brother Zaccarie Chellingworth was also grilled over the bedside conversation between Wright and the injured pilot at the hospital. 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"You're making this up as you go along," he said, with Ms Chellingworth replying "No I'm not". Mr Edwardson said Wright was simply helping her son get his paperwork up to date as he had a responsibility to do so as he was flying under Wright's air operators certificate. The jury has heard that Mr Robinson's flight records were not up to date. Mr Edwardson put it to Ms Chellingworth that her family colluded to try to "deflect the blame across to Mr Wright" to avoid Mr Robinson being blamed for the crash. "I do not agree at all," she replied. Ms Chellingworth admitted her son had asked her to source marijuana and she had forged his signature from time to time when helping him run his helicopter company. Earlier on Tuesday Mr Robinson's brother Zaccarie Chellingworth was also grilled over the bedside conversation between Wright and the injured pilot at the hospital. Wright had said he needed to take 15 to 20 hours off the crashed helicopter and put them on Mr Robinson's own chopper "because there were hours unaccounted for," Mr Chellingworth said. Under questioning from Mr Edwardson, Mr Chellingworth, a licensed aircraft engineer, said he was aware aviation crash investigators suspected the crashed chopper had run out of fuel. Mr Edwardson put it to Mr Chellingworth he knew his brother would be in trouble if fuel exhaustion was found to be the cause of the crash. Mr Chellingworth rejected that and Mr Edwardson's accusation that his family had "manufactured allegations" against Wright to protect Mr Robinson from blame for the crash. When asked about Mr Robinson's cocaine use, Mr Chellingworth said his brother was not an addict or a dealer and he had only seen him take the drug once, at a buck's party on Wright's boat. The trial continues on Wednesday.
