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Outback Wrangler Matt Wright has posted a heartfelt tribute to mark the one-year anniversary of his partner’s death, as he prepares to face court over the helicopter crash that killed him.
Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson, 34, was collecting crocodile eggs in a remote area of West Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory when the helicopter he was hanging from collided with trees and fell to the ground on February 28 last year.
Wright, 43, was later charged with seven criminal counts in Wilson’s death, including destruction of evidence and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The reality star has yet to plead guilty, but his attorney Greg Jones previously said Wright denies any wrongdoing and intends to fight the charges. His matter will return to Darwin Local Court on March 8.
On Tuesday morning, a week before the matter is set to go back to court, Wright uploaded a video to Instagram featuring clips of Mr. Wilson from his hit Netflix series.
Outback Wrangler is pictured with his wife Kaia. Wright wrote a tribute to his partner Chris Wilson on the anniversary of his death.
She also penned a powerful post about how her co-star “had a twinkle in her eye” and “made the most of life.”
“One year ago we lost a father, son, brother and partner,” Wright wrote.
‘Willow lived for adventure, from the first day I met him he had a twinkle in his eye that would take him through some of the most amazing experiences around the world.
‘We miss our partner more than anything and his memory will live on through all of us. Willow will go down in the history books as one of Australia’s truest legends. I love you brother, it’s only time and we will see each other again.
The video showed snippets of Wright and Mr. Wilson drinking beers together, walking through mud, swimming in inland waterholes, and talking about how much he loved working at the NT.
One clip showed Wright, Wilson and other colleagues swimming and drinking XXXX Gold beer at the bottom of a waterfall.
Wilson said, “I’ve had one of the best days of my entire life, the only thing to compete with is marrying my wife and having my two children.”
Matt Wright (center, with Chris Wilson, right). In a clip posted to Instagram Tuesday, Wilson held a beer at a swimming hole and said: “I’ve had one of the best days of my entire life.”
Matt Wright wrote a heartfelt tribute to his co-star, Chris Wilson, on the first anniversary of the helicopter crash.
On the day of the accident, three helicopters left Noonamah around 7 am for a crocodile egg collection operation in West Arnhem Land.
After stopping to refuel around 8.30am, the crew flew to a staging area in King River and at 9am. eggs 12 km away.
The third helicopter was carrying Mr. Wilson and his pilot Sebastian Robinson, who instead began their operation in a nearby nest.
It wasn’t until just after 10am, when the other two teams were having morning tea, that they began to wonder about Mr. Wilson and Mr. Robinson.
Burbidge then went back to search for them alone and found the wreckage and the body of Mr Wilson lying 40m away, while the pilot was badly injured.
It is then understood that Burbidge left the scene to call reception for help, before returning to the crash site with Mr Richardson, Mr Purcell and Mr Luck.
CareFlight arrived at the accident site at 12:30 pm and took Mr. Robinson to the hospital.
Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson (pictured) died in the accident in western Arnhem Land while collecting crocodile eggs
About 10 minutes later, police officer Neil Mellon, Wright, and alligator farmer Mick Burns arrived at the scene.
The group of seven stayed with Mr. Wilson’s body until Careflight returned at 4:00 pm to retrieve it.
They then flew to Mr. Wilson’s property to comfort his wife, who was already surrounded by their own wives.
In the aftermath of the accident that shocked fans of the National Geographic show, Wright, Mellon and Burbidge were hit with a series of charges.
Mellon is accused of interfering with the scene and was arrested as he was arriving at work in August 2022.
Police allegedly found illegal wildlife, fireworks, and firearms during a raid on his home.
Wright was charged in the crash at the end of November, followed by a brief hearing at Darwin Local Court, where he was granted bail.
Mr Wilson was collecting crocodile eggs in a remote area of western Arnhem Land when the helicopter in which he was dangling at a depth of 30 meters collided with trees and the ground.
Their charges include attempting to pervert the course of justice, destruction of evidence, fabrication of evidence, two counts of trespass, making a false statement and interfering with witnesses.
Wright has been living on the Gold Coast in Queensland with his wife Kaia and their two young children.
The NT police investigation is expected to be completed in early March.
Wright and two other men charged in connection with the crash are due to reappear in court on March 8.
Wright became a household name more than a decade ago as the star of the National Geographic Channel series Outback Wrangler, which has since aired in nearly 100 countries.