Outback Wrangler Matt Wright claims a helicopter pilot was at a drug-driven party the night before he was involved in a crash that killed his best friend and TV co-star.
Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson, 34, dangled off the Robinson R44 on February 28 last year collecting crocodile eggs in a remote area of West Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.
He died when the helicopter flown by Sebastian Robinson and operated by Wright’s company Helibrook collided with trees and crashed to the ground.
Wright, 43, was charged with seven offenses related to the crash, including attempting to pervert the course of justice, fabricating evidence and destroying evidence.
Robinson, 29, suffered serious spinal injuries and has not been charged.
April Wright said he didn’t know why he was the main target of police investigations when a tA toxicology report found ‘cocaine derivatives’ in Mr Robinson’s blood sample.
Speak with the Sunday Telegraphthe Netflix star claimed he recently learned that Mr. Robinson was “at a party until the wee hours of the day before the crash, where people were doing cocaine.”
Outback Wrangler Matt Wright is pictured with his wife, Kaia. He has been hit with seven criminal charges over the helicopter crash
Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson (pictured) died in the crash in western Arnhem Land while collecting crocodile eggs
“These new revelations are extremely concerning, especially given the references in court to the contents of the pilot’s toxicology report,” he told the publication.
Wright said the helicopter “would never have taken off” had he been aware of what the toxicology report suggested.
The results of the toxicology report were revealed in Darwin’s local court in April in a letter that Wright’s lawyers sent to prosecutors.
Wright also told the newspaper on Sunday that he believes the helicopter crashed because it had not refueled at Mt Borradaille, as planned, ahead of the egg-collecting mission.
“Simply put, all my petrol stations in Darwin use blue fuel and the fuel at the petrol station on Mt Borradaile near the crash site was green,” said Wright.
According to a preliminary Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report, accessed by Daily Mail Australia, investigators extracted about 250ml of blue fuel from the bladder of the main tank.
The report also said the helicopter’s engine had no defects that would have stopped it before the crash.
“The initial assessment showed that the engine had stopped when the helicopter collided with the ground,” it reads.
Wright told the publication, “This makes me question whether the helicopter was refueled at Mount Borradaile, and whether fuel exhaustion was the cause of the crash.”
Mr Wilson was collecting crocodile eggs in a remote area of western Arnhem Land when the helicopter (scene shown) he was hovering 30 meters below collided with the ground
Tim Luck, who was in one of three helicopters on the mission that morning, previously told The Australian that he was “100 percent” sure the crashed helicopter had been refueled.
Mr Luck said he saw Mr Wilson fill the helicopter with fuel, and he took over and filled the plane’s tank ‘to the top’.
However, Wright said Mr Luck was not trained in helicopter refueling and was not authorized to do so.
The ATSB’s final report on the cause of the crash is due to be released in September.
Wright has yet to enter a plea, but his attorney Greg Jones previously said Wright denies any wrongdoing and plans to fight the charges.
He previously told Daily Mail Australia: ‘I’ve seen the damage drugs do to Indigenous and other communities. If I had any suspicion that the externally contracted pilot had used them, he should not have flown.
“While I’m not commenting on trials currently pending in court, this also raises serious questions about why I’ve been the main target of investigations, rather than the cause of the crash.”
He said it was “worrying” that police have access to that information but have chosen to focus on his life and business.
“Nothing will bring Willow back, which will always be the worst. But trying to blame me is not fair or accurate,” he said.
The case will return to court on May 31.