Reality TV star facing reality of life behind bars
Reality TV star Matt Wright has spent his first night behind bars after being sentenced to prison for trying to pervert the course of justice following a fatal helicopter crash.
At the High Court in Darwin on Friday, Acting Judge Alan Blow sentenced the 46-year-old to 10 months’ imprisonment, five months served followed by a two-year good behavior period.
He was fined $5,000 for lying to police investigators.
After sentencing, Wright bowed to the judge before being taken into custody.
The father of two, with a third child on the way, can expect to be released next May but may be pinning his hopes on an appeal against his two guilty verdicts early next year.
The Outback Wrangler 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, getting Mr Robinson to falsify flight times and asking a friend to “fire up” the helicopter’s maintenance exit.
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, Mr Wilson’s death or Mr Robinson’s injury.
Justice Blow said the crashed helicopter probably should not have flown after exceeding its maximum flight time of 2,200 hours, at which time it would have to be retired or undergo costly maintenance.
“It is clear that you have reason to fear that a thorough investigation may reveal that the 2200-hour limit has been exceeded,” he said.
Judge Blow said Wright lied to police about still having fuel in the crashed helicopter but accepted it was a spontaneous attempt to avoid charges being laid to protect himself and his friend Mr Robinson.
The more serious charge was a premeditated bid by Mr Robinson to falsify flight hour records by transferring the times of the crashed helicopter to the pilot’s own machine.
“This was a serious attempt to pervert the course of justice,” the judge said.
“When Mr. Robinson had recently come out of a coma and had just learned that he would never walk again, your insensitivity to comply with this request is telling.”
The judge noted that Wright had made a significant contribution to the community as a successful tourist enterprise operator, supporter of charities and conservation causes, and had impressive character credentials.
