Outback Wrangler Matt Wright: Fresh twist in legal case over chopper tragedy in the Northern Territory that claimed the life of his best mate Chris Wilson

Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright’s lawyer has appeared in court to file a new motion following the tragic helicopter crash that killed the TV adventurer’s best friend.

Wright’s lawyer Giles O’Brien-Hartcher was present at the Darwin District Court on Monday, while WorkSafe prosecutor Nicholas Goodfellow said the star’s legal team had asked for the case to be kept in court. NT News reported.

“My learned friend has indicated that the case may perhaps remain within summary jurisdiction,” said Mr Goodfellow.

However, he added that while the request would be considered, “the matter at this point – from WorkSafe’s perspective – is moving towards remand” – which would mean the matter would go to a higher court.

The development could mean the case will be heard by a jury rather than just a judge.

Wright and his company Helibrook Pty Ltd have both been charged with two counts of reckless conduct after allegedly breaching Northern Territory occupational health and safety laws.

The charges came after Wright’s friend Chris Wilson died on February 28, 2022, while hanging from a helicopter during a mission to collect crocodile eggs in the Northern Territory of Arnhem.

Wright’s company owned the helicopter that was being used to collect the eggs when Mr. Wilson was killed.

Mr Wilson, 34, was dangling from a swing 30 metres below the helicopter collecting the eggs and died in the crash, while pilot Sebastian Robinson suffered life-changing spinal injuries.

Mr O’Brien-Hartcher requested that, in the absence of a definitive response from WorkSafe, the case be left on the Hearing List rather than the Preliminary Hearing List (PEM).

“My only objection is that if it gets into the PEM stream, sometimes it’s hard to get it back in. I don’t want that,” he said.

‘Sometimes things take on a special dynamic of their own.’

But Chief Justice Elizabeth Morris said that if Mr. Goodfellow “does not consent to jurisdiction, I must begin the remand process.”

‘The Public Prosecution Service will make the decision on this, so if they say they refuse, the suspect and the court cannot do anything about it…

“We control our papers, but our papers do not control us, Mr. O’Brien-Hartcher.”

Chris Wilson (pictured right) died in the helicopter crash, while pilot Sebastian Robinson (left) was diagnosed with paraplegia.

Chris Wilson was collecting crocodile eggs while hanging from a Robinson R44 helicopter, better known as VH-IDW, when it crashed in the NT

Wright and Helibrook were charged by NT WorkSafe in February “for their failure to keep aircraft safe and allowing aircraft to be used when they were not safe”.

An NT WorkSafe spokesman said at the time that an investigation had “produced sufficient evidence to allege that Helibrook Pty Ltd and Wright had engaged in conduct designed to falsify the actual number of hours flown by the aircraft in the Helibrook fleet over an extended period of time”.

“This … affected the regular inspection and replacement of the aircraft’s life-limited components … and would therefore endanger the health and safety of the pilots and passengers,” the spokesman said.

The case will return to court on August 28.