Matt Wright had ‘nothing to do’ with fatal helicopter crash, lawyer claims, as Outback Wrangler Chris Wilson’s wife sues for damages

The Outback Wrangler’s lawyer indicated they could seek to throw out the civil suit, as Chris “Willow” Wilson’s wife sues Matt Wright’s company over the crash that killed her husband.

Netflix celebrity Matt Wright has hinted he may attempt to have a lawsuit thrown out on the grounds he had “nothing to do” with the crash that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris “Willow” Wilson, as he successfully applied to ban evidence exposed in court from being used against him in other cases.

Danielle Wilson filed a lawsuit in December against the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Mr Wright’s company Helibrook for damages, interest and costs over the fatal crocodile-egg collecting mission that killed her husband in February 2022.

At a Federal Court hearing on Tuesday, Justice Elizabeth Raper ruled Mrs Wilson could not use evidence revealed through a court order in any other criminal or civil proceedings.

Danielle Wilson is suing over the crash that killed her husband, Outback Wrangler co-star Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson.

Lawyer for Helibrook Darryn Kelly told the court Mr Wright and his wife Kaia were concerned about sensitive information being made public.

“There’s a lot of media publicity, there are other proceedings on foot, and my clients are concerned to make sure that things within these proceedings stay within these proceedings,” Mr Kelly said.

Mrs Wilson has applied to freeze Mr Wright’s assets and have his name added to the lawsuit due to questions over whether Helibrook’s insurance would cover the two limbs of her claim.

Justice Raper also ordered Mrs Wilson would have to pay compensation to anyone affected by the asset freezing, if the court found in their favour.

Outback Wrangler Matt Wright and his wife Kaia. Picture: Instagram

Mr Wright did not fight his name being added to the lawsuit, but Mr Kelly told the court that could change, indicating they might seek to have the case dismissed entirely.

“My understanding of the position was that neither Helibrook nor Mr Wright were in a position at this stage to raise any positive opposition,” Mr Kelly said.

“I don’t at the moment anticipate, on my instructions, a change in that position, but a lot of information has to be obtained from Mr and Mrs Wright in the next two weeks.

“To be clear, Your Honour, there appears at the moment to be one fundamental cause of this accident, and I don’t want to over simplify it, which on the face of it has nothing to do with Mr Wright.”

Mr Kelly said he had raised “a question about the strength of that argument” and noted the possibility of a “summary dismissal” application.

Chris 'Willow' Wilson died after a helicopter operated by Matt Wright’s company Helibrook crashed during a croc-egg collecting mission.

Mr Wilson died hanging from a Robinson R44 chopper owned and operated by Helibrook, with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau handing down its findings into the crash late last year.

The investigation found fuel exhaustion to be the most likely cause of the crash, and that Mr Wilson’s harness was released from the helicopter above a survivable height.

The ATSB was critical of Helibrook in its findings, saying the company had a “long history of noncompliance” and the helicopter had several engine defects at the time of the crash.

It also found Helibrook likely failed to properly log its true flight hours and was not using its Civil Aviation Safety Authority-approved plan to systematically identify and manage operational hazards.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority also came under fire, ATSB saying it failed to identify, assess and mitigate risks when it approved a safety plan that allowed egg collectors to be slung below the chopper without limits on height, speed and exposure.

Trace amounts of cocaine were also found in pilot Seb Robinson’s system. In a statement posted to Instagram, Mr Wright said he had a strong stance against drugs and was “not having any of my guys do ‘em”.

Mr Wright has been committed to trial in the NT Supreme Court over allegations he attempted to pervert the course of justice in relation to the crash. Mr Wright has pleaded not guilty.

Originally published as Matt Wright had ‘nothing to do’ with fatal helicopter crash, lawyer claims, as Outback Wrangler Chris Wilson’s wife sues for damages