A helicopter crash pilot has denied fabricating claims that reality TV star Matt Wright asked him to falsify flying hours, as the trial continues in Darwin's Supreme Court. Sebastian Robinson, who was left paraplegic in the February 2022 crash that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson, is giving evidence via video link from his wheelchair.
Robinson alleges that Wright, as chief pilot of Helibrook, asked him at his hospital bedside 11 days after the crash to transfer flying hours from the crashed helicopter IDW to Robinson's ZXZ machine. He claims Wright said something like 'we might have to put some hours across on to ZXZ'. However, senior defence counsel David Edwardson KC accused Robinson of concocting an 'absolute falsehood', asserting the conversation never occurred.
Edwardson also challenged Robinson's recollection that Wright took his phone at the hospital and deleted items, which Robinson believed were helicopter flight times from egg collecting. Edwardson described this as an 'absolute falsehood', stating Wright never touched Robinson's phone or deleted any messages. The jury was shown phone messages extracted by police displaying a list of flying hours sent to Wright between December 2021 and the crash.
Prosecutors allege Wright was concerned crash investigators would discover that flight-time meters were regularly disconnected to extend flying hours beyond official thresholds and that paperwork was falsified. Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The charges do not relate to the cause of the accident, and the prosecution does not allege Wright is responsible for the crash, Wilson's death, or Robinson's injuries.
Robinson has previously admitted cocaine use and supply but told the court he never flew helicopters while under the influence. He has vigorously denied the helicopter crashed because it ran out of fuel. The trial continues.
