Outback Wrangler Matt Wright banned from flying as CASA ends fatal helicopter crash probe

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has grounded Outback Wrangler host Matt Wright after cancelling his commercial pilot’s licence and the air operator’s certificate of his helicopter company.

But the celebrity croc-wrangler, who uses choppers as his main mode of transport in the Northern Territory, has already filed an appeal against CASA’s decision and vowed to fight to get his licence back.

The Nightly revealed in June that CASA had quietly launched enforcement action against at least six pilots following the NT chopper crash in February 2022 that killed Wright’s Netflix co-star Chris “Willow” Wilson.

Now, almost three years after Wilson’s death, CASA has finally completed its enforcement action against those involved and connected to the crash, despite claiming it is still conducting a “wider investigation”.

Wilson — who starred on reality television shows including Outback Wrangler and Wild Croc Territory — was killed when the helicopter he was slinging beneath crashed in a remote part of West Arnhem Land during a crocodile egg collecting mission.

Pilot Sebastian Robinson was critically injured and is now paraplegic.

The destroyed Robinson R44 Raven II, registered VH-IDW, was owned and operated by Mr Wright and his company Helibrook.

For more than 1000 days CASA has been investigating several matters stemming from the fatal crash, but has repeatedly refused to reveal what, if any, enforcement action it had taken as a result of its findings.

As a consequence, The Nightly sought copies of all enforcement action — in relation to, or stemming from, CASA’s investigation into the crash — through Freedom of Information.

This week CASA refused to release the documents.

“All documents within the scope of your FOI request are documents that form part of a wider investigation that remains ongoing,” said a CASA lawyer.

“The release of the documents could reasonably be expected to prejudice the conduct of the remainder of the investigation.”

CASA said the relevant documents also contained personal accounts “of the events that occurred in relation to this incident” and that those accounts contain “information that is not well known and is not publicly available”.

However, The Nightly can now reveal that CASA last week told Mr Wright that his commercial pilot’s licence and Helibrook’s air operator’s certificate have been cancelled.

Under the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations, CASA may cancel or suspend a licence if the holder has contravened a provision of the Act or the regulations, or has failed in their duty in a way that adversely affects the safe navigation or operation of an aircraft.

The Nightly can also reveal CASA issued an infringement notice, stemming from its crash investigation, to another pilot on April 8.

CASA issued two enforcement decisions, stemming from its crash investigation, on August 21.

And CASA is understood to have issued a counselling notice, which is designed to “encourage” a pilot to comply with legislative requirements, to at least one other pilot.

A spokesperson for Wright said on Wednesday that the reality television star, whose chopper-wrangling features heavily in all of his shows, would fight to get his commercial pilot’s licence reinstated.

“Mr Wright has lodged an appeal from the decision on his licence and had advised the regulator some time ago that Helibrook would not be maintaining an air operator’s certificate moving forward,” his spokesperson said.

Helibrook no longer requires an AOC — a certificate authorising an operator to carry out specified commercial air transport operations — because the business has ceased operating.

If Wright’s appeal bid fails, he will have to reapply for his licence.

The 150-hour commercial pilot licence course takes around 12 months to finish if completed full-time and can take up to three years – and requires a minimum of 200 flight hours – if completed on an ad-hoc basis.

Meanwhile Wright and his influencer wife Kaia will face the Darwin Local Court on Thursday over an airboat crash that fractured a woman’s skull and caused her a significant scalp laceration.

In October, NT WorkSafe charged the celebrity couple and their company Top End Safari Camp over a 2023 airboat crash, on a lagoon south-west of Darwin, that injured eight passengers.

Top End Safari Camp was charged with four breaches of the Work Health and Safety Act and the Wrights were charged with three breaches of the Act.