Latest news with #Helibrook
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Sky News AU
Helicopter pilot warned croc wrangler Matt Wright over log books amid allegations chopper was not properly maintained: court hears
A helicopter pilot warned crocodile wrangler Matt Wright to get hold of the logbooks from a chopper that crashed on a crocodile-egg collecting mission, saying 'there's been s*** written in it' and he needed to know who he could trust. Mr Wright is facing three charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice by his alleged actions after the crash that killed his friend and Netflix co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson on February 28, 2022. The prosecution has accused Mr Wright of attempting to tamper with the helicopter's maintenance records due to concerns the crashed chopper had not been properly maintained. The helicopter, with the call sign IDW, was owned by Mr Wright's company Helibrook. The court was played a covertly recorded phone call between Mr Wright and helicopter pilot Michael Burbidge made on August 9, 2022. In the conversation Burbidge says to Mr Wright: 'Who's got the logbooks for IDW? There's been s*** written in it.' Mr Burbidge then tells Mr Wright an anonymous 'source' had told him engineers had been writing notes in the logbook saying the helicopter had been flown when the hours meter was disconnected. 'They've said the clock's been off … so you need to find out who's f****** said it so you know who to trust and not to trust,' he said. The court has previously been told Wright's company often operated helicopters with the hours meter – also referred to as the Hobbs meter – disconnected. This was done to avoid expensive servicing and maintenance requirements, a practice that was common in the Northern Territory's aviation industry. Earlier, Mr Burbidge told the court how he had thrown away Mr Wilson's phone after the crash that took his life. Mr Burbidge, who was flying another helicopter on the day of the fatal mission, was the first person to arrive at the scene after the crash. Mr Wright, businessman Mick Burns and off-duty police officer Neil Mellon flew to the scene after Mr Burbidge had alerted authorities to the crash. Mr Burbidge told the court Mr Mellon had handed him Mr Wilson's phone after taking it out of his pocket. He told Mr Mellon: 'Dani (Wilson's wife) doesn't need to see what's on the phone.' Mr Mellon told the court he subsequently disposed of the phone as he was flying back to Darwin. 'I got rid of it,' he said. 'Piffed it somewhere on the way home. I don't know where mate.' The court heard Mr Burbidge had pleaded guilty to destroying evidence and fined over the incident. He said Mr Wright was not involved in his decision to dispose of the phone. Mr Wright has pleaded not guilty to the three charges. The trial before Justice Alan Blow continues.
West Australian
2 days ago
- West Australian
Matt Wright: Croc-wrangler's fears mates ‘will start squealing' as cops put pressure on after fatal crash
Outback Wrangler host Matt Wright feared his mates would 'start squealing' as investigators 'put pressure on' them following the fatal chopper crash that killed his Netflix co-star Chris Wilson and left a pilot paraplegic, prosecutors say. On day two of Mr Wright's supreme court trial, crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC revealed what was allegedly captured in new secret police recordings from the celebrity croc-wrangler's bugged Gold Coast home. Mr Wright is on trial in the Northern Territory after pleading not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to the investigation into a fatal crash. Mr Wright's aviation business Helibrook owned a Robinson R44, registered VH-IDW, which crashed during a crocodile egg collecting mission at West Arnhem Land on February 28, 2022. Pilot Sebastian Robinson was critically injured in the accident while the egg collector, 34-year-old Wilson, was killed. On Thursday Mr Gullaci told the jury that in 2022, as multiple investigations into the fatal accident progressed, authorities were seeking the original maintenance release for the destroyed helicopter. The 'MR' is an A3 document that is kept inside the helicopter and contains information about the aircraft's maintenance, airworthiness and flight hours. It has a unique identifying number and is legally required to be filled out, kept in the chopper at all times and produced upon request. The court heard that on March 3, 2022 an ATSB investigator saw and took photos of the MR at Mr Wright's home in Darwin. On March 14 of that year, Kaia Wright also scanned and emailed a copy of it to police but the physical original was never seized or examined by authorities. In May 2022, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority issued Mr Wright, as chief pilot with Helibrook, a formal notice to produce the 'original of the most recent maintenance release for R44 helicopter VH IDW serial number 12355'. 'And in the second half of 2022 there were multiple requests for the original MR for IDW in effect at the time of the accident to be produced and it was never produced,' Mr Gullaci said. 'The prosecution alleges that certainly from 30 May 2022 Mr Wright knew that … the authorities wanted the physical original of IDW surrendered. 'And what we say is that there are two conversations that occur three days apart in September 2022 … we say that what is being discussed is the destruction of the original MR for IDW so that the authorities can't get it. 'And so that the authorities can't perform whatever forensic test they might want to perform on it, whether it be handwriting or whatever it might have been, and that that's what is being discussed in these conversations.' The Melbourne-based barrister conceded the 'quality of these recordings is not great'. But the prosecution says that given the opportunity to listen to these calls multiple times, with the aid of a transcript, 'the critical features of this call can be made out'. Both of the conversations, recorded at Mr Wright's home at Palm Beach in Queensland, were between him and his mate Jai Tomlinson. Mr Tomlinson is a pilot and director of a civil construction company on the Sunshine Coast. The prosecution says that in the first conversation, picked up by a police listening device at 2.58pm on September 23 in 2022, Mr Wright's wife Kaia can also be heard. The prosecution says the group are talking about the MR for VH-IDW and alleges this is what was said: Wright: What's that? Tomlinson: That f***ing MR. Wright: Where is it? Tomlinson: I don't know. Remember he didn't take it with him and we tried to cover his arse. Kaia Wright: Now they want it for a handwriting specialist. Tomlinson: Well that's what he thinks. Wright: Who? Kaia Wright: David. (alleged reference to Mr Wright's solicitor David Newey). Tomlinson: That there, that's (inaudible) Wright: What? Tomlinson: There is zero interest in it? Wright: The what? Tomlinson: The other one that we scribbled over. (Inaudible). Waterlogged, wasn't it? Wright: Yes. Tomlinson: Whatever boys. Lawyer up, boys. How are you meant to know, Matty? How the f*** are you meant to know? You don't know. Wright: Yes. Tomlinson: I don't know. Kaia: Jai, that was only you and Matt there. Tomlinson: Yes, yes, no one else. Wright: What's that? The MR? Tomlinson: Yes. Kaia: Who is going to remember? It was early. Wright: Hey? No, but I asked the boys to sign it, and no one signed it. No one signed it. Tomlinson: It got signed. It got signed on that morning on a tree stump. It's all right, f***ing. (unintelligible). How do you know? Wright: I know. Tomlinson: No, no, no. Wright: It's just what the boys. Tomlinson: No, but how are you meant to know? You weren't there. You're not there every time someone f***ing signs it. Wright: Yes, now – but now everyone is f***ing – now they are starting to put the pressure on everyone, you know, they will start squealing, so yes. Tomlinson: One word against another's. I can send you the docs. You haven't seen the documents. Wright: (unintelligible). I know, that's what shits me. (Unintelligible conversation). Wright: It's only Dan and Jocko that were involved. The prosecution says Jocko is a reference to Jock Purcell, a pilot and egg collector employed by Mr Wright, who was on the fatal February 2022 mission. A follow-up conversation was recorded two days later, just after midnight on September 25, between Mr Wright and Mr Tomlinson. 'The prosecution case is this is a continuation of the same topic of discussion they were talking about from two days earlier, 23 September,' Mr Gullaci said. The below transcript reflects what the prosecution alleges was said during the late night chat, which starts off with Mr Wright relaying to Mr Tomlinson what happened at the crash site when Jock Purcell was checking to see if the Hobbs meter was connected in VH-IDW. Wright: But no one is saying – the thing is that no one is going. Yes, they looked at the dash and they were looking for something, yes? I said Dave is going, 'This where I'm up to,' and I've gone, 'Yes, we were.' AUDIO DROPS OUT FOR ABOUT 30 SECONDS Wright: No, this is where it's f***ed. Jocko didn't touch a thing. That's what I said earlier, mate you are not lying. It's hard to say, but you're not lying with what you say, you didn't touch a fucking thing. Tomlinson: He didn't see. Wright: No, he saw. Tomlinson says: Nothing? Wright: He was the bloke looking under as I was trying. I was the only bloke who went f***ing boom-boom-boom, Jocko check underneath. All right, that was me. I believe so. We were checking the lines to make sure that the fucking thing wasn't going to short out and f***ing burn out. Or to make sure that there was nothing substantial going on, or to try and work out what was going on with the machine. Jocko didn't touch a f***ing thing at all. Tomlinson: Where was Burbs? (pilot Michael Burbidge) Wright: Right next to me. Tomlinson: Where was Mellon? (off-duty police officer Neil Mellon) Wright: Right next to him going, 'What are you guys doing?' And I said, 'Mate, just checking shit to make sure it's all good. 'Jocko, is everything good, is it okay?' (Jock reportedly said) 'Everything is good Matty. Don't worry about it, sweet. Everything is connected, it's all fucking sweet'. So that is what it is. That is the big crunch - right? INAUDIBLE Tomlinson: I thought that was. Wright: No, no, that's the big one. Mine is the other one. Mine is this one that I thought was going to get every c*** to lie. Only reason we're not f***ed, mate. I'll hang that c*** up by his fuckin' neck. He's like, 'Don't worry, guys, I've got this', like. I don't know what he was saying because I didn't understand what you're meant to do and not meant to do. I thought, 'F*** that - we'll take everything' - right. We are here, we are taking it, you know, all right?' And he goes, 'It's all right, I've got your back. I want to make sure that it's all legal.' And I was like, 'I don't give a f***, nah, so' AUDIO DROPS OUT FOR ABOUT 90 SECONDS Wright: No. With I didn't. Tomlinson: Mm mm. Wright: Yep. Tomlinson: (unintelligible) Wright: I just looked at it then. F*** that, nuh, it just had no fuel, he had run out of fuel. I will just say that he was a shit pilot. Tomlinson: Yeah, work on his character. Wright: Yep, poor admin, hey, poor admin, mm mm. Wright: Just torch it. I don't know where it is but I'm thinking it's either there. I've got to send it to CASA or ATSB (unintelligible) if they don't have it and they're asking (unintelligible). Wright: Yeah, so they don't have the original. I reckon CASA are chasing the original to set us up. I don't remember signing it. Tomlinson: Mm mm Wright: Just burn the c***. Mr Gullaci said the 'shit pilot' comment was a reference to Mr Robinson who was flying, and was critically injured, when the chopper crashed. The prosecutor said Mr Wright 'is and must be' referring to requests by CASA and the ATSB for IDW's original MR. 'The prosecution case is, on charge 3, that … Mr Wright wanted to, or was instructing Mr Tomlinson to, destroy the original MR so it couldn't be provided to the authorities,' he said. When Mr Gullaci finished delivering the crown's opening statement, Mr Wright's defence barrister David Edwardson KC addressed the jury. 'The prosecution alleges that all three counts on the indictment are attempts by Matt Wright to provide false information and interfere with the lawful investigations that occurred concerning the helicopter crash,' he said. 'Members of the jury, by his pleas of not guilty to all three counts, Matt Wright denies that he did any such thing. 'He is presumed to be innocent of all three counts unless the prosecution proves otherwise beyond reasonable doubt.' Mr Edwardson said count one 'turns entirely on the unchallenged record of what Matt Wright said to the police in a statutory declaration' on March 3, 2022 when he told police that he looked in the helicopter's fuel tank at the scene and saw 'what looked like about half a tank of fuel'. 'This is the lie that the prosecution relies on to make out count 1,' he said. 'In relation to count 2, the credibility of Sebastian Robinson and his extended family is seriously in issue. 'Their evidence will be critical to your consideration of this count and will require you to conduct very close scrutiny of those witnesses.' In regards to count 3, the Adelaide silk said that the Wrights had presented the original MR to authorities on two occasions – physically showing an ATSB investigator and providing a scanned copy to police – in March 2022. 'On the prosecution case, count 3 is based entirely on the prosecution's interpretation and construction of a recorded conversation in the early hours of the morning of 25 September 2022 (between Wright and Tomlinson),' he said. 'It is simply the interpretation, your interpretation, of a recording. 'So you can see, members of the jury, that the actual evidence that goes directly and specifically to each count is of very small compass indeed and should not take long, that evidence at least.' The five-week trial, before Acting Justice Alan Blow, will resume on Friday morning with witnesses Michael Burbidge, Tim Luck, Ty Richardson Mr Purcell – who were all present at the crash site – expected to be called next.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
Full transcript of secret Outback Wrangler tape revealed
Outback Wrangler host Matt Wright feared his mates would 'start squealing' as investigators 'put pressure on' them following the fatal chopper crash that killed his Netflix co-star Chris Wilson and left a pilot paraplegic, prosecutors say. On day two of Mr Wright's supreme court trial, crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC revealed what was allegedly captured in new secret police recordings from the celebrity croc-wrangler's bugged Gold Coast home. Mr Wright is on trial in the Northern Territory after pleading not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to the investigation into a fatal crash. Mr Wright's aviation business Helibrook owned a Robinson R44, registered VH-IDW, which crashed during a crocodile egg collecting mission at West Arnhem Land on February 28, 2022. Pilot Sebastian Robinson was critically injured in the accident while the egg collector, 34-year-old Wilson, was killed. On Thursday Mr Gullaci told the jury that in 2022, as multiple investigations into the fatal accident progressed, authorities were seeking the original maintenance release for the destroyed helicopter. The 'MR' is an A3 document that is kept inside the helicopter and contains information about the aircraft's maintenance, airworthiness and flight hours. It has a unique identifying number and is legally required to be filled out, kept in the chopper at all times and produced upon request. The court heard that on March 3, 2022 an ATSB investigator saw and took photos of the MR at Mr Wright's home in Darwin. 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 On March 14 of that year, Kaia Wright also scanned and emailed a copy of it to police but the physical original was never seized or examined by authorities. In May 2022, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority issued Mr Wright, as chief pilot with Helibrook, a formal notice to produce the 'original of the most recent maintenance release for R44 helicopter VH IDW serial number 12355'. 'And in the second half of 2022 there were multiple requests for the original MR for IDW in effect at the time of the accident to be produced and it was never produced,' Mr Gullaci said. 'The prosecution alleges that certainly from 30 May 2022 Mr Wright knew that … the authorities wanted the physical original of IDW surrendered. 'And what we say is that there are two conversations that occur three days apart in September 2022 … we say that what is being discussed is the destruction of the original MR for IDW so that the authorities can't get it. 'And so that the authorities can't perform whatever forensic test they might want to perform on it, whether it be handwriting or whatever it might have been, and that that's what is being discussed in these conversations.' The Melbourne-based barrister conceded the 'quality of these recordings is not great'. But the prosecution says that given the opportunity to listen to these calls multiple times, with the aid of a transcript, 'the critical features of this call can be made out'. Both of the conversations, recorded at Mr Wright's home at Palm Beach in Queensland, were between him and his mate Jai Tomlinson. Mr Tomlinson is a pilot and director of a civil construction company on the Sunshine Coast. Jai Tomlinson is a pilot and director of a civil construction company on the Sunshine Coast. Credit: Black Cat Civil The prosecution says that in the first conversation, picked up by a police listening device at 2.58pm on September 23 in 2022, Mr Wright's wife Kaia can also be heard. The prosecution says the group are talking about the MR for VH-IDW and alleges this is what was said: Wright: What's that? Tomlinson: That f***ing MR. Wright: Where is it? Tomlinson: I don't know. Remember he didn't take it with him and we tried to cover his arse. Kaia Wright: Now they want it for a handwriting specialist. Tomlinson: Well that's what he thinks. Wright: Who? Kaia Wright: David. (alleged reference to Mr Wright's solicitor David Newey). Tomlinson: That there, that's (inaudible) Wright: What? Tomlinson: There is zero interest in it? Wright: The what? Tomlinson: The other one that we scribbled over. (Inaudible). Waterlogged, wasn't it? Wright: Yes. Tomlinson: Whatever boys. Lawyer up, boys. How are you meant to know, Matty? How the f*** are you meant to know? You don't know. Wright: Yes. Tomlinson: I don't know. Kaia: Jai, that was only you and Matt there. Tomlinson: Yes, yes, no one else. Wright: What's that? The MR? Tomlinson: Yes. Kaia: Who is going to remember? It was early. Wright: Hey? No, but I asked the boys to sign it, and no one signed it. No one signed it. Tomlinson: It got signed. It got signed on that morning on a tree stump. It's all right, f***ing. (unintelligible). How do you know? Wright: I know. Tomlinson: No, no, no. Wright: It's just what the boys. Tomlinson: No, but how are you meant to know? You weren't there. You're not there every time someone f***ing signs it. Wright: Yes, now – but now everyone is f***ing – now they are starting to put the pressure on everyone, you know, they will start squealing, so yes. Tomlinson: One word against another's. I can send you the docs. You haven't seen the documents. Wright: (unintelligible). I know, that's what shits me. (Unintelligible conversation). Wright: It's only Dan and Jocko that were involved. The prosecution says Jocko is a reference to Jock Purcell, a pilot and egg collector employed by Mr Wright, who was on the fatal February 2022 mission. A follow-up conversation was recorded two days later, just after midnight on September 25, between Mr Wright and Mr Tomlinson. 'The prosecution case is this is a continuation of the same topic of discussion they were talking about from two days earlier, 23 September,' Mr Gullaci said. The below transcript reflects what the prosecution alleges was said during the late night chat, which starts off with Mr Wright relaying to Mr Tomlinson what happened at the crash site when Jock Purcell was checking to see if the Hobbs meter was connected in VH-IDW. Wright: But no one is saying – the thing is that no one is going. Yes, they looked at the dash and they were looking for something, yes? I said Dave is going, 'This where I'm up to,' and I've gone, 'Yes, we were.' AUDIO DROPS OUT FOR ABOUT 30 SECONDS Wright: No, this is where it's f***ed. Jocko didn't touch a thing. That's what I said earlier, mate you are not lying. It's hard to say, but you're not lying with what you say, you didn't touch a fucking thing. Tomlinson: He didn't see. Wright: No, he saw. Tomlinson says: Nothing? Wright: He was the bloke looking under as I was trying. I was the only bloke who went f***ing boom-boom-boom, Jocko check underneath. All right, that was me. I believe so. We were checking the lines to make sure that the fucking thing wasn't going to short out and f***ing burn out. Or to make sure that there was nothing substantial going on, or to try and work out what was going on with the machine. Jocko didn't touch a f***ing thing at all. Tomlinson: Where was Burbs? (pilot Michael Burbidge) Wright: Right next to me. Tomlinson: Where was Mellon? (off-duty police officer Neil Mellon) Wright: Right next to him going, 'What are you guys doing?' And I said, 'Mate, just checking shit to make sure it's all good. 'Jocko, is everything good, is it okay?' (Jock reportedly said) 'Everything is good Matty. Don't worry about it, sweet. Everything is connected, it's all fucking sweet'. So that is what it is. That is the big crunch - right? INAUDIBLE Tomlinson: I thought that was. Wright: No, no, that's the big one. Mine is the other one. Mine is this one that I thought was going to get every c*** to lie. Only reason we're not f***ed, mate. I'll hang that c*** up by his fuckin' neck. He's like, 'Don't worry, guys, I've got this', like. I don't know what he was saying because I didn't understand what you're meant to do and not meant to do. I thought, 'F*** that - we'll take everything' - right. We are here, we are taking it, you know, all right?' And he goes, 'It's all right, I've got your back. I want to make sure that it's all legal.' And I was like, 'I don't give a f***, nah, so' AUDIO DROPS OUT FOR ABOUT 90 SECONDS Wright: No. With I didn't. Tomlinson: Mm mm. Wright: Yep. Tomlinson: (unintelligible) Wright: I just looked at it then. F*** that, nuh, it just had no fuel, he had run out of fuel. I will just say that he was a shit pilot. Tomlinson: Yeah, work on his character. Wright: Yep, poor admin, hey, poor admin, mm mm. Wright: Just torch it. I don't know where it is but I'm thinking it's either there. I've got to send it to CASA or ATSB (unintelligible) if they don't have it and they're asking (unintelligible). Wright: Yeah, so they don't have the original. I reckon CASA are chasing the original to set us up. I don't remember signing it. Tomlinson: Mm mm Wright: Just burn the c***. Mr Gullaci said the 'shit pilot' comment was a reference to Mr Robinson who was flying, and was critically injured, when the chopper crashed. The prosecutor said Mr Wright 'is and must be' referring to requests by CASA and the ATSB for IDW's original MR. 'The prosecution case is, on charge 3, that … Mr Wright wanted to, or was instructing Mr Tomlinson to, destroy the original MR so it couldn't be provided to the authorities,' he said. Outback Wrangler Matt Wright has been supported by wife Kaia Wright at court. Zizi Averill Credit: News Corp Australia When Mr Gullaci finished delivering the crown's opening statement, Mr Wright's defence barrister David Edwardson KC addressed the jury. 'The prosecution alleges that all three counts on the indictment are attempts by Matt Wright to provide false information and interfere with the lawful investigations that occurred concerning the helicopter crash,' he said. 'Members of the jury, by his pleas of not guilty to all three counts, Matt Wright denies that he did any such thing. 'He is presumed to be innocent of all three counts unless the prosecution proves otherwise beyond reasonable doubt.' Mr Edwardson said count one 'turns entirely on the unchallenged record of what Matt Wright said to the police in a statutory declaration' on March 3, 2022 when he told police that he looked in the helicopter's fuel tank at the scene and saw 'what looked like about half a tank of fuel'. 'This is the lie that the prosecution relies on to make out count 1,' he said. 'In relation to count 2, the credibility of Sebastian Robinson and his extended family is seriously in issue. 'Their evidence will be critical to your consideration of this count and will require you to conduct very close scrutiny of those witnesses.' In regards to count 3, the Adelaide silk said that the Wrights had presented the original MR to authorities on two occasions – physically showing an ATSB investigator and providing a scanned copy to police – in March 2022. 'On the prosecution case, count 3 is based entirely on the prosecution's interpretation and construction of a recorded conversation in the early hours of the morning of 25 September 2022 (between Wright and Tomlinson),' he said. 'It is simply the interpretation, your interpretation, of a recording. 'So you can see, members of the jury, that the actual evidence that goes directly and specifically to each count is of very small compass indeed and should not take long, that evidence at least.' The five-week trial, before Acting Justice Alan Blow, will resume on Friday morning with witnesses Michael Burbidge, Tim Luck, Ty Richardson Mr Purcell – who were all present at the crash site – expected to be called next.
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
Bush helicopter pilot to front reality TV star's trial
A jury in the trial of reality TV star Matt Wright is set to hear from a bush pilot who was first at the scene of a helicopter crash that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson. Wright is being tried in the Supreme Court in Darwin on three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the February 2022 crash in a remote part of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. The crown case is that Wright did not properly record helicopter flying hours and was concerned crash investigators would uncover the issue, triggering possible charges against him and his company. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC told the jury the charges did not relate to the cause of the accident and it was not alleged Wright was responsible for the crash or the death. Mr Wilson was in a sling under the helicopter on a crocodile egg collecting mission when it plunged to the ground, killing him and critically injuring pilot Sebastian Robinson, who is now a paraplegic. The jury on Friday is set to hear from bush helicopter pilot Michael Burbidge who was first onto the crash scene in a paperbark swamp after contact was lost with Mr Robinson's chopper. Wright flew to the scene in his own helicopter with off-duty police officer Neil Mellon. Mr Mellon told the jury on Thursday he removed a handgun and phone from Mr Wilson's body and told others at the scene he would put him in a body bag for transport by Careflight chopper to Darwin. The jury heard a recording of a statutory declaration made by Wright to police days after the crash, saying crocodile egg collection using helicopters had its "inherent risks". But he said his Helibrook company continued to work with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to minimise risk and make the job as safe as possible. "Usually it's the crocodiles that's the danger," he said, with collectors dropped onto croc nests to collect the eggs. "As much as the lads see it as a fun adventurous day, it's also a serious operation that we're doing." Wright said in his statutory declaration he had no problem releasing maintenance documents to aviation safety authorities. Everyone who flew into the crash scene was distraught and "pretty well shell-shocked" at the loss of Mr Wilson, whose body had been covered with a tarp, he said. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci has told the jury Wright failed to give aviation authorities the crashed chopper's maintenance release and ordered an associate "to just torch it". It was also the crown case that Wright visited Mr Robinson in Royal Brisbane Hospital days after the crash and was "putting the hard word on him" to falsify helicopter flying hours, which he refused to do. But defence senior counsel David Edwardson KC said his client "emphatically denied" trying to get Mr Robinson to falsify flight records or telling an associate to find and destroy the maintenance release. The Darwin trial before acting Justice Allan Blow is expected to take up to five weeks. A jury in the trial of reality TV star Matt Wright is set to hear from a bush pilot who was first at the scene of a helicopter crash that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson. Wright is being tried in the Supreme Court in Darwin on three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the February 2022 crash in a remote part of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. The crown case is that Wright did not properly record helicopter flying hours and was concerned crash investigators would uncover the issue, triggering possible charges against him and his company. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC told the jury the charges did not relate to the cause of the accident and it was not alleged Wright was responsible for the crash or the death. Mr Wilson was in a sling under the helicopter on a crocodile egg collecting mission when it plunged to the ground, killing him and critically injuring pilot Sebastian Robinson, who is now a paraplegic. The jury on Friday is set to hear from bush helicopter pilot Michael Burbidge who was first onto the crash scene in a paperbark swamp after contact was lost with Mr Robinson's chopper. Wright flew to the scene in his own helicopter with off-duty police officer Neil Mellon. Mr Mellon told the jury on Thursday he removed a handgun and phone from Mr Wilson's body and told others at the scene he would put him in a body bag for transport by Careflight chopper to Darwin. The jury heard a recording of a statutory declaration made by Wright to police days after the crash, saying crocodile egg collection using helicopters had its "inherent risks". But he said his Helibrook company continued to work with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to minimise risk and make the job as safe as possible. "Usually it's the crocodiles that's the danger," he said, with collectors dropped onto croc nests to collect the eggs. "As much as the lads see it as a fun adventurous day, it's also a serious operation that we're doing." Wright said in his statutory declaration he had no problem releasing maintenance documents to aviation safety authorities. Everyone who flew into the crash scene was distraught and "pretty well shell-shocked" at the loss of Mr Wilson, whose body had been covered with a tarp, he said. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci has told the jury Wright failed to give aviation authorities the crashed chopper's maintenance release and ordered an associate "to just torch it". It was also the crown case that Wright visited Mr Robinson in Royal Brisbane Hospital days after the crash and was "putting the hard word on him" to falsify helicopter flying hours, which he refused to do. But defence senior counsel David Edwardson KC said his client "emphatically denied" trying to get Mr Robinson to falsify flight records or telling an associate to find and destroy the maintenance release. The Darwin trial before acting Justice Allan Blow is expected to take up to five weeks. A jury in the trial of reality TV star Matt Wright is set to hear from a bush pilot who was first at the scene of a helicopter crash that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson. Wright is being tried in the Supreme Court in Darwin on three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the February 2022 crash in a remote part of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. The crown case is that Wright did not properly record helicopter flying hours and was concerned crash investigators would uncover the issue, triggering possible charges against him and his company. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC told the jury the charges did not relate to the cause of the accident and it was not alleged Wright was responsible for the crash or the death. Mr Wilson was in a sling under the helicopter on a crocodile egg collecting mission when it plunged to the ground, killing him and critically injuring pilot Sebastian Robinson, who is now a paraplegic. The jury on Friday is set to hear from bush helicopter pilot Michael Burbidge who was first onto the crash scene in a paperbark swamp after contact was lost with Mr Robinson's chopper. Wright flew to the scene in his own helicopter with off-duty police officer Neil Mellon. Mr Mellon told the jury on Thursday he removed a handgun and phone from Mr Wilson's body and told others at the scene he would put him in a body bag for transport by Careflight chopper to Darwin. The jury heard a recording of a statutory declaration made by Wright to police days after the crash, saying crocodile egg collection using helicopters had its "inherent risks". But he said his Helibrook company continued to work with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to minimise risk and make the job as safe as possible. "Usually it's the crocodiles that's the danger," he said, with collectors dropped onto croc nests to collect the eggs. "As much as the lads see it as a fun adventurous day, it's also a serious operation that we're doing." Wright said in his statutory declaration he had no problem releasing maintenance documents to aviation safety authorities. Everyone who flew into the crash scene was distraught and "pretty well shell-shocked" at the loss of Mr Wilson, whose body had been covered with a tarp, he said. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci has told the jury Wright failed to give aviation authorities the crashed chopper's maintenance release and ordered an associate "to just torch it". It was also the crown case that Wright visited Mr Robinson in Royal Brisbane Hospital days after the crash and was "putting the hard word on him" to falsify helicopter flying hours, which he refused to do. But defence senior counsel David Edwardson KC said his client "emphatically denied" trying to get Mr Robinson to falsify flight records or telling an associate to find and destroy the maintenance release. The Darwin trial before acting Justice Allan Blow is expected to take up to five weeks. A jury in the trial of reality TV star Matt Wright is set to hear from a bush pilot who was first at the scene of a helicopter crash that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson. Wright is being tried in the Supreme Court in Darwin on three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the February 2022 crash in a remote part of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. The crown case is that Wright did not properly record helicopter flying hours and was concerned crash investigators would uncover the issue, triggering possible charges against him and his company. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC told the jury the charges did not relate to the cause of the accident and it was not alleged Wright was responsible for the crash or the death. Mr Wilson was in a sling under the helicopter on a crocodile egg collecting mission when it plunged to the ground, killing him and critically injuring pilot Sebastian Robinson, who is now a paraplegic. The jury on Friday is set to hear from bush helicopter pilot Michael Burbidge who was first onto the crash scene in a paperbark swamp after contact was lost with Mr Robinson's chopper. Wright flew to the scene in his own helicopter with off-duty police officer Neil Mellon. Mr Mellon told the jury on Thursday he removed a handgun and phone from Mr Wilson's body and told others at the scene he would put him in a body bag for transport by Careflight chopper to Darwin. The jury heard a recording of a statutory declaration made by Wright to police days after the crash, saying crocodile egg collection using helicopters had its "inherent risks". But he said his Helibrook company continued to work with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to minimise risk and make the job as safe as possible. "Usually it's the crocodiles that's the danger," he said, with collectors dropped onto croc nests to collect the eggs. "As much as the lads see it as a fun adventurous day, it's also a serious operation that we're doing." Wright said in his statutory declaration he had no problem releasing maintenance documents to aviation safety authorities. Everyone who flew into the crash scene was distraught and "pretty well shell-shocked" at the loss of Mr Wilson, whose body had been covered with a tarp, he said. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci has told the jury Wright failed to give aviation authorities the crashed chopper's maintenance release and ordered an associate "to just torch it". It was also the crown case that Wright visited Mr Robinson in Royal Brisbane Hospital days after the crash and was "putting the hard word on him" to falsify helicopter flying hours, which he refused to do. But defence senior counsel David Edwardson KC said his client "emphatically denied" trying to get Mr Robinson to falsify flight records or telling an associate to find and destroy the maintenance release. The Darwin trial before acting Justice Allan Blow is expected to take up to five weeks.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
Bush helicopter pilot to front reality TV star's trial
A jury in the trial of reality TV star Matt Wright is set to hear from a bush pilot who was first at the scene of a helicopter crash that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson. Wright is being tried in the Supreme Court in Darwin on three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the February 2022 crash in a remote part of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. The crown case is that Wright did not properly record helicopter flying hours and was concerned crash investigators would uncover the issue, triggering possible charges against him and his company. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC told the jury the charges did not relate to the cause of the accident and it was not alleged Wright was responsible for the crash or the death. Mr Wilson was in a sling under the helicopter on a crocodile egg collecting mission when it plunged to the ground, killing him and critically injuring pilot Sebastian Robinson, who is now a paraplegic. The jury on Friday is set to hear from bush helicopter pilot Michael Burbidge who was first onto the crash scene in a paperbark swamp after contact was lost with Mr Robinson's chopper. Wright flew to the scene in his own helicopter with off-duty police officer Neil Mellon. Mr Mellon told the jury on Thursday he removed a handgun and phone from Mr Wilson's body and told others at the scene he would put him in a body bag for transport by Careflight chopper to Darwin. The jury heard a recording of a statutory declaration made by Wright to police days after the crash, saying crocodile egg collection using helicopters had its "inherent risks". But he said his Helibrook company continued to work with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to minimise risk and make the job as safe as possible. "Usually it's the crocodiles that's the danger," he said, with collectors dropped onto croc nests to collect the eggs. "As much as the lads see it as a fun adventurous day, it's also a serious operation that we're doing." Wright said in his statutory declaration he had no problem releasing maintenance documents to aviation safety authorities. Everyone who flew into the crash scene was distraught and "pretty well shell-shocked" at the loss of Mr Wilson, whose body had been covered with a tarp, he said. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci has told the jury Wright failed to give aviation authorities the crashed chopper's maintenance release and ordered an associate "to just torch it". It was also the crown case that Wright visited Mr Robinson in Royal Brisbane Hospital days after the crash and was "putting the hard word on him" to falsify helicopter flying hours, which he refused to do. But defence senior counsel David Edwardson KC said his client "emphatically denied" trying to get Mr Robinson to falsify flight records or telling an associate to find and destroy the maintenance release. The Darwin trial before acting Justice Allan Blow is expected to take up to five weeks.
