Fresh legal fight over Outback Wrangler star’s death

The Australian safety regulator wants parts of a lawsuit brought by the widow of Outback Wrangler star Chris Wilson struck out, a court has been told.

The Australian air safety regulator is attempting to have parts of a lawsuit brought by the widow of Outback Wrangler co-star Chris Wilson struck out, arguing it contained “fundamental inconsistencies”, a court has heard.

Mr Wilson was killed in a helicopter crash in remote West Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory during a crocodile egg-collecting mission in February 2022.

At the time of the crash, Mr Wilson was being hung from the helicopter from a sling.

His widow, Danielle Wilson, last year began proceedings in the Federal Court seeking damages for personal injury as well as for the loss of her husband’s income.

She has sued the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), Outback Wrangler co-star Matt Wright and his company Helibrook.

In a report, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found the crash was likely caused by the helicopter running out of fuel.

Pilot Sebastian Robinson was also seriously injured in the crash and left a paraplegic.

Chris Wilson with his wife Danielle. Picture: Supplied

The Federal Court was told on Tuesday that CASA was preparing to file an interlocutory application to strike out sections of Ms Wilson’s statement of claim and for summary dismissal.

Ms Wilson had alleged that the crash was either caused by a collision with a tree, engine failure, the helicopter running out of fuel or pilot error, the court was told.

“None of those four proximate causes can in any way be attributed to CASA,” CASA’s barrister Peter Ward told the court.

“The only way CASA could be said, on this pleading, to have caused or contributed to the death of Mr Wilson was by approving the operations that involved him being slung underneath the helicopter.”

Matt Wright is being sued over the crash. Picture: NewsWire/Pema Tamang Pakhrin.

Mr Ward told Justice Elizabeth Raper that Ms Wilson had further alleged if Helibrook had abided by CASA regulations, the crash would not have happened.

“That is, what is alleged against the other respondents is that if they’d complied with the conditions that CASA imposed on their operations, the accident would not have happened.”

He described this as a “fundamental inconsistency”.

CASA will now seek to have the case against it struck out during a hearing on May 14.