Matt Wright has opened up on his plans to step away from his business and the vile threats he has received in the aftermath of a crash that killed his best friend.
In his first sit-down interview since the crash, the Outback Wrangler expanded on his decision to shut down his business Helibrook and sell his choppers.
The move comes more than a year after his friend Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson was killed while on a crocodile egg hunting mission in West Arnhem Land in February 2022.
Mr Wilson was attached by a 30-metre line with a harness to a Robinson R44 helicopter when it crashed. The aircraft was owned by Wright’s company.
Wright revealed he had been subjected to vile abuse as a result of the crash and battled death threats and vandalism at his other business – with one person cutting the power to his home while his wife was in the house.
He revealed he had not had time to properly grieve the loss of his friend as ‘out of control’ rumours continued to swirl and hurt his family.
Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright (pictured) has revealed he is moving on from his helicter business following a fatal crash last year
Wright (left with partner Kaia) said his family had received horrible threats following the crash
‘I got publicly blamed for the death of my best mate it’s just not f***ing worth it,’ The Sunday Telegraph reported.
The 44-year-old said he had not been given sufficient time to grieve the death of his friend and spoke about the immense pain of finding Wilson at the crash scene.
He flew to the crash site along with former police officer Neil Mellon and prominent Darwin publican and crocodile farmer Mick Burns, to discover Wilson was dead, and found the pilot, Seb Robinson, had suffered serious injuries.
‘I’m getting pumped because I flew out there to say goodbye to my best mate,’ Wright said.
‘We sat with Willow until CareFlight came, we helped them load him into the machine and watched them fly him back to Darwin.
‘That’s one of the hardest bloody moments of all of our lives.’
Wright is charged with seven offences over issues not directly relating to the crash, including attempting to pervert the course of justice, destroying evidence, fabricating evidence, unlawful entry and interfering with witnesses.
No charges have been laid in relation to Wilson’s death and a committal hearing will be held next month.
Wright said his family had copped terrifying threats and abuse in the aftermath of the crash.
‘My wife Kaia was at home and some grub goes in there and cut our power to our house, like physically cutting the power pole,’ he said.
Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson plunged to his death in February 2022 when a Robinson R44 helicopter he was attached to by a 30-metre line with a harness crashed
‘Kaia copping abuse at shopping centres and stuff. They say things like ‘I can’t wait for your husband to get locked up, he’s f..king scum’.
Wright said his tourism business, Matt Wright Wild Territory, had been vandalised, including having signs ripped down.
‘We’ve had bottles thrown through a bus, you know, just out-of-control stuff and you think ‘why?’ he said.
The aviation watchdog, The n Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), last week ruled that the pilot did not refuel the aircraft owned and operated by Wright’s company, causing the engine to suddenly stop.
The investigation found the chopper’s engine stopped mid-flight and the pilot released the hooks and sling line during the emergency landing.
The height of the release, which was above nine metres, was ‘likely not survivable’ for Wilson, ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell found.
The investigation also found low levels of cocaine in Robinson’s blood which increased the likelihood of fatigue, depression and inattention but added there was insufficient evidence to determine if he was affected at the time.
Wright said the ATSB findings had brought about mixed feelings and that rumours about the crash were ‘ludicrous’.
An investigation last week revealed that the pilot of the chopper did not refuel the aircraft, causing it to stop mid-flight
He also said the ‘noise’ that surrounded the shocking incident meant he had not been able to fully accept his best mate was gone.
‘There’s certain aspects of that report that makes you upset that it’s such a simple accident that killed Willow,’ he said.
‘We didn’t want that to be true. As hard as it is for everyone involved, there are some answers now as to what happened.
‘The pilot has suffered enough, he is in a wheelchair which is horrible, we’ve lost Willow, lives have been turned upside down, so I want it to just stop.’