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Reality TV personality Matt Wright has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for attempting to obstruct justice in relation to a fatal helicopter accident.
The 47-year-old received his sentence from Acting Justice Alan Blow in the Supreme Court located in Darwin today.
Wright, star of the show Outback Wrangler, tragically lost his close friend and co-star Chris “Willow” Wilson in the February 2022 incident, which also left pilot Sebastian Robinson paralyzed from the waist down.
The crash occurred during a crocodile egg collection expedition in Arnhem Land. During the mission, Wilson was suspended beneath the helicopter, descending onto nests in isolated swamp regions.
Wright faced allegations of providing false information to crash investigators regarding the helicopter’s fuel level, urging Robinson to alter his flight log, and requesting a friend to destroy the helicopter’s maintenance documentation.
Prosecutors sought a jail term for Wright but his defence lawyers wanted a non-custodial sentence and are pursuing an appeal against his guilty verdicts.
In court today, Acting Justice Blow sentenced Wright to 10 months in prison, suspended after he serves five months.
He was given a $5000 fine on the charge of lying to police.
Wright bowed to the judge before he was led away.
The maximum penalty for attempting to pervert the course of justice is 15 years’ jail.
On August 29 a jury found Wright guilty on the first two counts but could not reach agreement on the third torching accusation.
Prosecutors alleged Wright was worried investigators would learn his choppers’ flying-hour meters were regularly disconnected to extend hours beyond official thresholds, with paperwork falsified to match.
The prosecution did not allege Wright caused the chopper crash, the death of Wilson, or Robinson’s injuries.