Chopper TV star Matt Wright ‘in horror croc-egg drama’

Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright has been accused of being involved in a horror helicopter incident.

Matt Wright.

Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright has been accused of being involved in a horror helicopter incident, with a former employee telling the national transport safety investigator that he was so badly injured while collecting crocodile eggs that he has suffered debilitating pain for more than eight years.

In the alleged serious incident – years before the February chopper crash that killed Chris “Willow” Wilson – Mr Wright allegedly ripped his “sling person” off the ground during an egg collecting mission on the Moyle River in the Northern Territory.

In a report to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, former employee Trent Lawson says the celebrity croc-wrangler “aggressively” took off in his chopper without first “punching off” Mr Lawson’s 30m line. The failure to disconnect from the cargo hooks allegedly caused Mr Lawson, who was in a harness attached to the sling, to be flung into the air.

Mr Wright’s spokesman said the allegations were “false and inaccurate”.

“Mr Lawson didn’t claim there was a serious issue that required medical attention at the time and hasn’t in eight years since,” he said. “Matt has remained in contact with Mr Lawson throughout this time.

“It’s not clear why after eight years and a good ongoing relationship with Matt, Mr Lawson has chosen now to air inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims.

“It’s unfair to the family of Chris Wilson for this issue to be trivialised and exploited.”

The alleged incident in early 2014 was reported to the ATSB this month as a part of its investigation into the February 28 chopper crash that killed Wilson.

The 34-year-old Outback Wrangler cast member died when the Robinson R44 from which he was dangling – operated by Mr Wright’s company Helibrook – crashed on the King River during a crocodile egg collection mission.

Mr Wright was not the pilot.

The ATSB aviation occurrence notification, obtained by The Australian, alleges that the 2014 incident occurred in a Robinson R44 helicopter piloted by Mr Wright while the reality TV star, Mr Lawson and Michael Jakobi were collecting eggs for the Coolibah Crocodile Farm. Mr Lawson, a junior pilot at the time, said he had not collected the expected number of eggs after dropping on to four or five nests and could tell Mr Wright was “getting frustrated … by the way he was flying”.

Mr Wright then lowered Mr Lawson to a staging area and landed the chopper near him. “He lowered the long line down so it was in a pile next to me,” Mr Lawson said. “The next step for him was to button the long line off from the hook on the bottom of the aircraft and then he would take off and go look for more nests. This is the job of the pilot.”

Mr Lawson described standing in a clearing and marking eggs with a pencil. “I had my head down when I heard the helicopter rotate aggressively,” he said.

“When I looked up, I saw the helicopter was completely nosed over, well through translational lift, and I could see the belly of the helicopter and the tail boom sticking up in the air. Then my eyes were drawn to the long line and I thought to myself ‘Is that long line still connected?’ ”

Mr Lawson saw the line lift into the air, still attached to his own harness, and he yelled “No” before trying to grab it.

“It just went taut and snapped out of my hands,” he said. “It ripped me off the ground by my chest. I was then reefed airborne.”

Mr Lawson was allegedly hoisted above tree height with a 40kg ring around his hips. “Matt started to turn the helicopter,” he said. “I was still going up at this point. The next thing I remember was hitting the ground.”

Mr Lawson said he was dragged across the ground and saw mud rushing past his head before losing consciousness.

Mr Wright landed the chopper and “rolled him around” to check for injuries. “Matt said ‘You’re right mate, come on, hop up’,” the statement said. “There was no care or even an apology … it was just ‘Get up mate’. Matt just kept saying, ‘Come on, we have to keep collecting’.”

Mr Lawson said Mr Jakobi was the only person who “seemed to actually care” about what had happened.

Mr Lawson, head of aircraft airworthiness and maintenance control at an Adelaide aviation company, says Mr Wright asked him to “keep it quiet”.

It is understood NT police have interviewed Mr Lawson as a part of their criminal investigation into the fatal February crash.