Latest news with #RobinsonR44
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Pilot having heart attack manages to land tourists safely on volcano then dies
Igor Kan, 59, became ill while flying tourists to see the Krasheninnikov volcano in eastern Russia which erupted this week and he was able to make an emergency landing - but he could not be saved A pilot suffering a heart attack heroically landed a helicopter carrying tourists on an active volcano before he died. Igor Kan, 59, became ill on a single pilot Robinson as he was taking three holidaymakers to see the Krasheninnikov volcano in eastern Russia which erupted this week for the first time in 600 years. He made an emergency landing, saving the lives of his passengers, but he tragically died before medical assistance arrived to help him. Aviaincident channel reported: 'The pilot of a private helicopter carrying four passengers suffered a heart attack, but managed to make an emergency landing. "(He) requested medical assistance but the pilot died before the arrival of the medical helicopter.' It comes after Ryanair passengers band together as staff charge woman £75 luggage fee. Woman travels 8 hours for wedding only to be told to leave for not reading invite 'small print' While the regional prosecutor's office in Kamchatka confirmed that he was forced into emergency landing. It stated: 'He felt unwell during the landing on the volcano." And a medical helicopter came but he could not be saved, while the other people who had been onboard were evacuated. 'During the flight, the pilot felt ill, but he was able to land the aircraft,' reported Region 41 media outlet. 'Unfortunately, it was not possible to save the man. Rescuers quickly arrived on a Mi-8 helicopter of the Russian Emergencies Ministry and evacuated everyone to the city of Elizovo.' "After landing, the pilot reported a heart attack. An air ambulance was being prepared to take off, but during this time, the man's condition worsened. It was not possible to save him,' added Gazeta news outlet. The body of the tragic pilot was taken down from the volcano. The pilot offered £4,700 flights to the spectacular Krasheninnikov volcano as well as the Valley of the Geysers, one of Russia's leading tourists sights. News outlet 112 said: 'Three tourists were evacuated from the volcano. They were not injured. All were taken to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, [the regional capital].' The pilot underwent regular medical examinations and had no health complaints, according to his acquaintances. He regularly flew tourists on excursions in his private Robinson helicopter. Some reports said there had been six tourists on the helicopter, but his model was a Robinson R44, which has four seats, allowing for the pilot and three passengers. A probe has been launched into the incident. The volcano erupted this week for the first time in centuries after a major undersea earthquake off Kamchatka of 8.8 on the Richter scale. The earthquake triggered a tsunami warning across the Pacific Ocean.
West Australian
5 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
5 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.
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- NZ Herald
Outback Wrangler Matt Wright accused of falsifying helicopter records before fatal crash
The jury heard Wild Harvest NT owner Mick Burns – commonly known as the 'crocodile king' of the NT – had the egg collection permit and lawfully subcontracted Wright's company Helibook to conduct the outback mission. The 34-year-old Wilson was the passenger of a Robinson R44 when the chopper went down, killing him and critically injuring Robinson. Gullaci alleged Wright plotted to 'cover up' certain things about the helicopter, specifically his 'pattern' of manipulating its flight records. He said that as an experienced businessman and pilot, Wright would have been very aware of the maintenance and service requirements of his aircraft, which include a service every 50 to 100 hours of flight and a major overhaul at 2200 hours. He said these 'potential end of life' overhauls could cost up to A$460,000 ($504,284). Gullaci said the Robinson R-44 was bought in September 2020 and had 'officially' logged 1594 in flight hours – meaning there was only 600 from the overhaul threshold. He alleged that in a recorded conversation with his wife Kaia in September 2022, Wright suggested he knew he had overflown the maintenance hours 'by a couple hundred [hours], maybe 10%'. 'I will be guilty of not keeping my f**king paperwork up to speed,' Wright allegedly said in a secretly bugged conversation. To avoid the costly safety checks, Gullaci alleged Wright repeatedly and 'deliberately' disconnected the chopper's Hobbs Meter, which he compared to the odometer of a car. 'In fairness to Wright, he wasn't Robinson Crusoe,' Gullaci said. 'You will hear that in the Northern Territory aviation industry in the helicopter field, this is common practice.' Gullaci repeatedly emphasised to the jury none of the charges alleged Wright was responsible for the deadly crash, however, he alleged it was the celebrity's fear he would be blamed that motivated his actions. 'Wright was concerned after the crash that this failure would be revealed,' Gullaci said. 'And if it is uncovered that there had been systemic underreporting of the recorded hours, that it could be used as a way to blame him for the accident.' The prosecution revealed its evidence would include recordings from covert listening devices installed in the celebrity's home, and intercepted telephone calls. Among the many witnesses expected to be called will be Burns and Robinson, who is now a paraplegic and in a wheelchair. Despite the intense media coverage and 'keyboard warrior' commentary, Gullaci reminded the jury to restrict its attention only to the evidence to maintain Wright's right to a fair trial. 'For better or worse in this country we have 'Tall Poppy syndrome' … we cut down people just because they're very successful,' Gullaci said. 'That is not appropriate, and there is no place for it in this trial. 'It doesn't matter if it was Snowy off the bus that no one knows, it doesn't matter if it was Taylor Swift sitting in that dock – the same protections apply for every accused person.' The trial continues.
West Australian
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Surveillance audio of Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright discussing chopper crash to be aired during his trial
Secret surveillance recordings of celebrity croc-wrangler Matt Wright will be played to the jury during his long-awaited trial on charges stemming from the investigation into a fatal chopper crash. The reality television star's high-profile proceedings commenced in the Northern Territory Supreme Court on Wednesday with Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC telling the jury they would hear covertly recorded conversations between Mr Wright, his wife Kaia and others. 'So in the course of this investigation, a covert listening device was installed at the home of Mr Wright and certain conversations were captured that are going to be played to you and are relied on,' Mr Gullaci said. 'There are also some limited telephone intercept calls, so similar to a listening device, albeit calls that were made involving Mr Wright were intercepted and recorded, and again, you will hear some of those calls.' A covertly recorded conversation between Mr Wright and Mr Robinson, when the pilot was in hospital, will also be tendered as evidence. Mr Wright's aviation business Helibrook owned a Robinson R44, registered VH-IDW, that crashed during a crocodile egg collecting mission at West Arnhem Land on February 28, 2022. The helicopter accident at King River killed his Netflix co-star Chris Wilson and left pilot Sebastian Robinson paraplegic. Mr Wright, 45, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to the investigation into the fatal crash. Mr Gullaci told the jury that after taking off from a staging area on the King River, with Mr Robinson flying and Wilson suspended beneath the helicopter on a sling, the helicopter 'got into trouble'. 'The precise reason or cause is unknown but the helicopter crashed,' he said. 'It seems, even though Mr Robinson doesn't have a recollection of it… that Mr Robinson has disconnected the sling from the helicopter.' Mr Gullaci said the chopper's engine may have failed but 'we don't know what happened, is the short answer, and it's not part of the case'. The court heard that on the morning of the crash, Mr Wright flew to the accident site with Mick Burns, who owns the crocodile egg harvesting business, and former NT police officer Neil Mellon. The barrister from Victoria told the jury that different witnesses had provided different accounts of what happened at the crash site. 'These people were close, close friends with both of the men, so they would have been visibly, emotionally distressed and upset,' he said. 'What the evidence I think will reveal though, is that at the crash site, Mr Wright, [pilot Michael] Burbidge and [egg collector Jock] Purcell approached the crashed helicopter. 'They go into the helicopter and they remove some items, but that they — these are my words — play around with the dash.' The crown claims Mr Wright was trying to check whether the Hobbs meter was connected. 'He was concerned that the Hobbs metre was disconnected and that would be revealed by people turning up at the crash,' Mr Gullaci said. 'From the outset he attempts to cover up previous rule-breaking.' In a statutory declaration, Mr Wright told police he had seen about half a tank of fuel in the destroyed chopper when he arrived at the crash site. Mr Gullaci says listening devices later recorded Mr Wright admitting 'I didn't see f***in' any fuel in the tank, zero'. 'F*** mate, I don't know, but there was f***ing zero there,' he was allegedly recorded saying. 'It just had no fuel, he had run out of fuel, I'll just say he was a s**t pilot.' Mr Gullaci said Mr Wright made the statutory declaration with intent to obstruct investigations and avoid suggestions the aircraft operated without adequate fuel or that there was a fuel line problem. Mr Gullaci told the jury that none of Mr Wright's charges related to the cause of the helicopter crash itself but that 'the focus of the prosecution case is on what Mr Wright did after the crash happened'. The crown case is that Mr Wright did not properly record VH-IDW's flying hours and tried to cover that up because he feared that crash investigations would uncover that and it would result in charges against him and his companies. Mr Gullaci says Mr Wright's alleged offending was motivated by fear that 'he could be blamed for the crash'. 'That one of his helicopters has crashed and his very, very close mate Christopher Wilson has been killed and another close friend has been seriously injured, then of course there's going to be scrutiny,' he said. 'If it's uncovered that there's systemic under-recording of hours, then that could be used as a way to blame him for the accident.' The prosecution alleged the crashed helicopter had flown for more hours than was reflected on its Hobbs meter. The court heard that investigators had concluded the destroyed chopper was likely over its 2200 hours. 'If it had exceeded that threshold, the rules are, it shouldn't have been flying,' Mr Gullaci said. The crown will continue its opening address on Thursday morning before Mr Burns is called to give evidence. - With AAP
