Reality TV star Matt Wright has been found guilty of two counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following a fatal helicopter crash in February 2022 that killed his co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson and left pilot Sebastian Robinson a paraplegic. The verdict was delivered by a Supreme Court jury in Darwin on Friday after a four-week trial before acting Justice Allan Blow.
The jury failed to reach a verdict on a third count. Wright, who faces up to 15 years in jail when sentenced on 6 October, said he would appeal. 'We'll keep just moving forward with this, but it's been devastating for everyone involved,' he told reporters outside court after his bail was extended.
The charges did not relate to the cause of the crash, and the prosecution did not allege Wright was responsible for the accident. However, Wilson's widow, Dani, said Wright's actions had 'denied a complete, thorough and unimpeded investigation into the crash'. She added that her two sons would soon spend their fourth Father's Day without their father.
The Air Transport Safety Bureau concluded the helicopter ran out of fuel, causing the engine to shut down. Wright was accused of lying to investigators about fuel levels, attempting to get Robinson to falsify flying hours, and asking a friend to 'torch' the helicopter's maintenance release. Prosecutors alleged Wright was concerned investigators would learn that flying-hour meters were regularly disconnected to extend flying hours beyond official limits.
Senior defence counsel David Edwardson KC focused blame on Robinson, portraying him as a cocaine-trafficking 'party animal' and accusing him and his family of colluding to shift focus onto Wright. Outside court, Robinson's brother read a statement from the pilot saying the verdicts brought some closure but that 'the scars of the defendant's conduct are huge and permanent'.
