ATSB refers possible fatal Outback Wrangler chopper crash charges to AFP
The national transport safety agency is so concerned it has been deprived of key evidence while investigating the crash that killed Chris Wilson it referred possible criminal charges to the AFP.
Australia’s transport safety agency is so concerned that it has been deprived of crucial evidence while investigating the fatal Northern Territory chopper crash that killed Netflix star Chris Wilson that it referred possible criminal charges to the Australian Federal Police.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau recently referred possible offences to the AFP and those matters – which were subsequently referred to NT Police – are being considered by the Territory’s Director of Public Prosecutions.
An ATSB spokesman said the matters related to “the status of evidence available” to the ATSB for the purpose of its “no blame” safety investigation.
“The referral did not concern the circumstances of the accident itself,” he said.
Wilson, who starred in reality television shows Outback Wrangler and Wild Croc Territory, was killed when the helicopter from which he was dangling crashed during a crocodile egg-collecting mission at West Arnhem Land on February 28 last year.
Pilot Sebastian Robinson suffered severe spinal injuries when the helicopter hit terrain, soon after takeoff, on the King River. The 30-year-old aircraft engineer is still recovering.
The destroyed Robinson R44 Raven II was owned by celebrity croc-wrangler Matt Wright’s company Helibrook.
Wright and his two co-accused, former NT policeman Neil Mellon and pilot Michael Burbidge, have been charged with offences against the administration of justice and dishonesty offences relating to their actions after the crash.
The three men – who are accused of making false statements, destroying evidence and either conspiring or attempting to pervert the course of justice – will face a two-day preliminary examination on the papers in December.
The ATSB would not confirm the specific offences it believed may have also been committed under the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 but a possible example would be hindering an ATSB investigation.
A person is guilty of that offence if they engage in conduct and are reckless as to whether the conduct will adversely affect an investigation – into an immediately reportable matter – that is already under way or that could start at a later time.
Under the legislation “conduct” includes omission and the penalty is 12 months in jail. “The AFP referred the matter to the NT Police as part of its broader investigations,” an ATSB spokesperson said.
NT Police confirmed on Monday that it had “received a referral from the ATSB via the AFP”.
“The circumstances surrounding the matters referred were investigated and a brief has been provided to the NT DPP for consideration,” a spokesperson said.
Last month The Australian revealed the extraordinary scale of the NT Police investigation into the crash that now spans seven of its major crime squads.
Its secretive probe has involved specialist detectives from the Major Crime Squad, Serious Crime Squad, Territory Major Crash Investigation Unit, Special References Unit, Fraud Squad, Drug and Organised Crime Squad, and the Territory Intelligence and Digital Forensics Unit, which have all helped secure evidence connected to the circumstances surrounding the crash.
The ATSB, Civil Aviation Safety Authority and NT WorkSafe are also still investigating what happened before, during and after the crash. The ATSB’s final report into the cause of the helicopter crash is planned for release by the end of September.
Since his arrest Wright, who briefly moved to Queensland last year, has returned to the Territory to run his tourism operations.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority and NT WorkSafe confirmed they were still investigating a crash involving one of Wright’s airboats at his Top End Safari Camp, which injured a number of passengers.
CareFlight flew two women with head and leg injuries to hospital after responding to the incident on May 10 at Sweets Lagoon during a tourist cruise.
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