Outback Wrangler jailed after fatal chopper crash
Celebrity crocodile wrangler Matt Wright has been sentenced to jail after a jury found him guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
EXCLUSIVE
Celebrity crocodile wrangler Matt Wright has been sentenced to five months jail and fined $5000 after a jury found him guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice over a chopper crash that killed his mate Chris “Willow” Wilson.
Wright, who gained international stardom for his hit television series Outback Wrangler and Wild Croc Territory, was charged over his actions in the aftermath of a fatal 2022 helicopter crash in remote Arnhem Land.
No one has been charged in relation to the cause of the crash and Robinson has not been accused of any offence.
In the Darwin Supreme Court on Friday afternoon, Wright was handed a convicted sentence of ten months jail, five of which is suspended. He was also handed a $5000 fine.
Handing down the sentence, Acting Justice Alan Blow said it was significant that he asked Robinson to falisfy documents and had “the callousness” to make this request when he had recently come out of a coma and just realised he was unlikely to walk again.
“It was the worst possible time to put any pressure on him he was heavily medicated and very vulnerable.”
The judge also accepted he didn’t go to the hospital solely for the purpose to falsify his maintenance release.
Justice Blow said the fact a man had died and a second had catastrophic injuries made the offence of attempting to pervert the course of justice more serious.
“The more serious the matter being investigated, the more serious it is to attempt to pervert the course of justice”.
“There was a degree of planning in Wright’s conduct for ten days that meant a period of imprisonment was appropriate.
”What you did was too serious in all the circumstances for any other sentence.”
Judge Blow said the fact Wright had no prior criminal history played in his favour.
He said Wright was “obviously an intelligent businessman and contributed substantially to the community.”
Since 2018, Wright has donated $120,000 to local community groups.
He said that through the ordeal, media and social media commentary, Wright’s reputation has suffered more than it should have.
Judge Blow pointed out Wright had lost his pilot’s licence and his businesses have suffered to extent they are close to failure.
Sentencing day
Courtroom two was packed with journalists and two distinct camps.
Wright’s supporters filled the rows on the right side of the room, close to the dock, while police sat in the front row on the left with supporters of Sebastian Robinson.
Earlier, Prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC told the court the maximum penalty is 15 years. He submitted that Mr Wright should serve a term of imprisonment to reflect the seriousness of the offences.
The prosecution submitted a table of cases from the last five years, significant sentences for offences of attempting the court of justice to provide the court a guide and some assistance.
Defence lawyer Luke Officer told the court the Crown appropriately conceded Matt Wright is not to be sentenced for the cause of the crash.
“He is not to be sentenced, and is not responsible, for the death of Mr Wilson and the injuries of Mr Robinson.”
He told the court Mr Wright was also not to be sentenced for any regulatory breaches and “finally he is not to be sentenced for his celebrity status”.
The defence maintained the responsibility in relation to this particular accident “fell at the feet of Sebastian Robinson”.
“He forgot to refuel, he was the pilot … there is some evidence he was in the passenger seat for most of the flight … and he had been using cocaine”.
The defence submitted Wright should have a wholly suspended sentence, and if not, an intensive community corrections order.
They argued Mr Wright was a person of exemplary character, with excellent prospects of rehabilitation.
They submitted he is “not going to be before these courts again and that’s an important factor when you consider a community corrections order”.
Family ties
Wright’s wife Kaia, who is now preparing for her children’s Christmas without their father, told news.com.au she is devastated by the outcome.
She said she hoped her husband’s highly-publicised court case would have publicly shed light as to what caused the helicopter crash but instead she was left frustrated and felt that the cause of the accident was “tippy toed” around leaving the public “more confused than ever”.
“What was meant to be an investigation into the cause of the crash turned into an investigation into Matt Wright that provided the public with no answers as to the cause,” she said.
“All of the search warrants for our property and properties at the start of the police investigation had “manslaughter” on them. This showed the police were conducting an investigation into the cause of the crash with manslaughter charges on the table and Matt was the focus.
“Interestingly, once the ATSB report came out and Matt wasn’t responsible, the manslaughter police investigation just seemed to disappear into thin air.
“It’s absolutely crazy, there’s a death that needs to be investigated. What was infuriating, is that following the trial we all thought there would be some sort of flow on justice or flow on answers, that an investigation would continue into the crash. And it just does not seem that an investigation is happening.
“It’s not that we want anyone else to suffer. It’s actually a want for the truth to be out there and for answers and accountability.
“There are no answers as to what caused that helicopter to crash, and when I say there’s no answers, there’s no answers from police.
Kaia said a “balanced and rigorous investigation” was needed to “exhaust all options to get answers”
She was furious a police spokesman “went on national TV within weeks of Matt’s trial finishing” saying with regard to the cause of the accident: “We’ll never have the answers to the questions”.
“That’s just not true,” she claimed.
“The police made it all about Matt and throwing mud at him and not about holding anyone accountable for what caused the crash.”
When asked by news.com.au whether the investigation into the cause of the crash had now closed an NT Spokesman said: “The NT Police Force investigated both the crash itself and conduct that followed. All relevant matters have been thoroughly assessed.
“Charges have been laid in relation to conduct after the crash, two resulting in convictions, with one still before the court.
“This was a tragedy in which someone lost his life and another suffered life-changing injuries. Police had a duty to thoroughly investigate those circumstances. Beyond that, very serious allegations were made about efforts to pervert the course of justice after the crash.
“Those allegations strike at the heart of public confidence in the justice system. Investigating such matters is not optional, it is fundamental to the police’s role.”
The crash
In an exclusive interview with news.com.au, 46-year-old Wright said no one can move forward until authorities “come clean” on what actually caused the accident.
He said he will never understand why police seemed more intent on charging him and two other men who arrived in the bloody aftermath, than get to the bottom of what caused the chopper to come down.
He said lives have been destroyed, friendships forever broken, and no one can properly move forward until the police “come clean” on why they have not focused on the cause of the crash.
NT Police have refused to confirm whether or not the investigation into the actual cause of the crash is ongoing, while the NT Coroner’s Court said “no decision has been made yet” as to whether or not there will be an inquest into Wilson’s death.
“From what I understand the chopper has run out of fuel. The pilot has gone against the protocol on how we deal with emergencies when you are slinging a bloke,” Wright said.
“You get your human external load onto the ground before punching them off. That’s something that he’s gonna have to live with.”
Wright faced a four week highly-publicised Supreme Court trial in September which saw him convicted of two counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The charges stemmed from events after the 2022 helicopter crash that killed Wilson, and left pilot Sebastian Robinson with lifelong injuries.
Another pilot Michael Burbidge, who was the first on scene, and former police officer Neil Melon – who attended the crash site later with Wright – were both convicted of destroying Willow’s mobile phone.
They pleaded guilty, saying they believed there was information on the phone Willow’s wife would not want to see.
During evidence in Wright’s highly-publicised four-week trial, Robinson said while he had no memory of the crash due to his injuries, he accepted he “must have intentionally disconnected” Wilson from the sling that was suspending him 25 metres above the ground.
An ATSB report into the cause of the crash – which is protected by the Transport Information Safety Act and therefore could not be used as evidence in the trial – found the helicopter was “likely not refuelled at the en route fuel depot, which was about three quarters of the way between the departure location on the outskirts of Darwin and a clearing near King River where the helicopter and crew were to commence crocodile egg collecting”.
The report also found the pilot did not identify the reducing fuel state before the helicopter’s engine stopped in flight due to fuel exhaustion.
The ATSB also found the “pilot’s exposure to cocaine within the previous few days increased the likelihood of fatigue, depression and inattention” however it said there was “insufficient evidence to determine whether these effects occurred”.
Wright said: “I wasn’t flying the helicopter. I wasn’t there. At the end of the day the evidence has come out that that machine has run out of fuel, whether you like it or not”.
“You’ve got some head engineers around Australia that did the engine tear down, ran through it, the tanks got sent back to Robinson. They’re all consistent with no fuel in the tanks when it hits the ground.”
Originally published as Outback Wrangler jailed after fatal chopper crash
