‘Distraught’: Wrangler trial secret recordings released
Days after a crocodile egg collecting expedition ended in tragedy, reality TV star Matt Wright emotionally described the remote helicopter crash site to police.
The man known as the Outback Wrangler stopped to regain his composure before revealing that he had arrived at the scene as seriously injured pilot Sebastian Robinson was leaving in the CareFlight helicopter.
Wright’s best friend and co-star Chris “Willow” Wilson died in the crash in Arnhem Land in February 2022 that left Mr Robinson paralyzed from the waist down.
“Everybody was pretty devastated and sad,” Wright said three days after the tragedy.
Among 14 secret recordings released almost a year after the Supreme Court hearing, Wright told police Mr Robinson had “done everything he could” to safely fail Mr Wilson, judging by what he saw on the ground.
Mr Wilson was hanging from a rope under the helicopter to jump into crocodile nests and collect eggs when the helicopter crashed.
When asked how much fuel he thought was left in the helicopter’s tank, Wright said, “Maybe half a tank.”
But a very different account was given in a phone conversation with his friend William Cook recorded in December 2022.
“I don’t want to bring Sebi into this, but I won’t get involved because of his downfall,” Wright said.
“My failure was when I was trying to protect Seb and I looked into the tank and said I thought it was half a tank.
“I didn’t see any fuel in the damn tank. It was zero.”
Wright was charged with three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the crash.
He was accused of lying to investigators about the amount of fuel in the helicopter, getting Mr Robinson to falsify flight times and asking a friend to “fire up” the helicopter’s maintenance exit.
Wright is heard discussing the helicopter logs in a series of recordings, including an August 2022 conversation with fellow pilot Michael Burbidge about the ill-fated helicopter’s flight hour logbook.
Mr. Burbidge told Wright that he should look at the logbook because someone had written “the watch was found to be disconnected again.”
“So you need to find out who said this, so you know who to trust and who not to trust.”
Prosecutors had alleged that Wright was concerned that investigators would learn that his helicopters’ flight hour meters were regularly disabled to go beyond official thresholds and that paperwork was falsified to comply.
The prosecution did not allege that Wright was responsible for the accident, Mr. Wilson’s death or Mr. Robinson’s injuries.
Wright was convicted of two counts in August 2025 and served five months in prison.
Jury could not agree on helicopter maintenance evacuation “torch” claim.
In the video he published after the recordings were released, Wright told his Instagram followers not to believe “everything you read and listen to in the media.”
“There are overzealous reporters out there doing some digging; let them go,” he said.
