Reality TV star jailed for interfering with crash probe
Lloyd Jones
Reality TV star Matt Wright has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for attempting to pervert the course of justice following a fatal helicopter crash.
The 47-year-old man was sentenced by Deputy Judge Alan Blow in the Darwin High Court on Friday.
Country Cowboy The star lost his best friend and co-star Chris “Willow” Wilson in the February 2022 crash that left pilot Sebastian Robinson paralyzed from the waist down.
The incident occurred during a crocodile egg-collecting expedition in Arnhem Land when Mr Wilson tethered himself to the bottom of a helicopter to jump into nests in remote swamps.
Wright was accused of lying to accident investigators about the amount of fuel in the machine, trying to get Robinson to falsify flight times, and asking a friend to “fire” the helicopter’s maintenance evacuation.
Prosecutors sought a prison sentence for Wright, but defense attorneys sought a non-custodial sentence and are seeking to appeal his guilty verdicts.
In court on Friday, Blow sentenced Wright to 10 months in prison, suspended after five months served.
He was fined $5,000 for lying to the police.
Wright bowed to the judge before being taken away.
The maximum penalty for attempting to pervert the course of justice is 15 years’ imprisonment.
On August 29, the jury found Wright guilty on the first two charges but could not reach an agreement on the third charge.
Prosecutors alleged that Wright was concerned that investigators would learn that his helicopters’ flight hour meters were regularly disabled to exceed official thresholds and that paperwork was falsified accordingly.
The prosecution did not allege that Wright caused the helicopter crash, Wilson’s death, or Robinson’s injury.
AAP
