Outback Wrangler Matt Wright to face committal hearing over Chris Wilson’s fatal chopper crash charges

Matt Wright will face a committal hearing before Christmas over charges connected to the fatal chopper crash that killed Netflix star Chris Wilson.

Pilot Sebastian Robinson with Chris 'Willow' Wilson.

Outback Wrangler host Matt Wright will face a committal hearing before Christmas over charges connected to the fatal chopper crash that killed Netflix star Chris Wilson as the reality shows that made him famous vanish from local streaming services.

The former Tourism Australia ambassador and his two co-­accused – former Northern Territory policeman Neil Mellon and pilot Michael Burbidge – will face a two-day committal hearing in December where Wright has vowed to “clear his name”.

The three men have all been charged with serious offences – including making false statements, destroying evidence and either conspiring or attempting to pervert the course of justice – stemming from the police investigation into the helicopter crash.

They will face a two-day preliminary examination on the ­papers (PEP), a committal hearing where no witnesses are called, on December 7 and 8.

Helicopter pilot Michael Burbidge, former police officer Neil Mellon and Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright.

The PEP was set after the ­defendants’ lawyers and the prosecutor agreed there was sufficient evidence to send the matters to the Supreme Court without the defence lawyers cross-examining witnesses. Instead they will ask the judge to refer the matters to the Supreme Court “on the papers”.

Wright confirmed on Monday that he would fight the charges.

“Matt will be pleading not guilty and strenuously defending the charges,” a spokesperson said. “He looks forward to clearing his name.”

In late August Wright and his family moved to Queensland but the 43-year-old has since moved back to the Territory to run his tourism operations throughout the dry season.

Wright’s Outback Wrangler series was recently removed from Apple TV. Outback Wrangler and Monster Croc Wrangler are geo-blocked from Australian viewers on National Geographic and Prime Video, while Matt Wright’s Wild Territory, which aired on Nine last year, is no longer available on 9Now.

The streaming services did not respond to questions but The Australian understands Wright did not request the shows be removed.

Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson with his wife Danielle.

His most recent series, Wild Croc Territory, remains on Netflix despite Wilson’s widow, ­Danielle urging the streaming giant to take it down after its host was arrested in November.

Wilson, 34, is a central character in the series which showcases Wright’s Top End tourism operations while catching and relocating crocodiles in the outback.

The territory government contributed $250,000 towards production and said it would attract more than 200 million viewers.

In episode three Wilson said that being able to trust his mates and co-stars was vital to his safety.

“There’s nothing easy about what we do,” the father of two said. “Catching crocodiles, in the environment that we deal with them in is probably one of the hardest jobs on the planet.

“Definitely need a team you can trust when you’re working in such dangerous environments. You need to be able to make sure that if something goes wrong the guys next to you are gonna back you up and not run away.”

Matt Wright leaving the Darwin Local Court in November. Picture: Glenn Campbell.

Wilson, who starred in all of Wright’s shows, was killed when the helicopter he was slinging from crashed during a crocodile egg-collecting mission on February 28 last year. Pilot Sebastian Robinson suffered severe spinal injuries when the helicopter hit terrain soon after takeoff on the King River in a remote part of West Arnhem Land. The 30-year-old aircraft engineer is still recovering.

Last month the Australian ­revealed the extraordinary scale of the police investigation into the crash, which now spans seven of its major crime squads.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s final report into the cause of the crash is due for ­release by the end of September.