Outback Wrangler Matt Wright fronts court over deadly chopper crash that killed his best mate and left pilot with life-changing injuries

Matt Wright, Neil Mellon and Michael Burbidge are all set to face Darwin Local Court on Thursday at 10am local time.

The trio have been charged in relation to the investigation of the helicopter crash that killed Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson.

Wright is accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice, destroying evidence, fabricating evidence, unlawfully entering a building, unlawfully entering a dwelling, making a false declaration and interfering with witnesses in a criminal investigation or court process by making threats/reprisals.

Mellon has been charged with 32 offences including attempting to pervert the course of justice, stealing and unlawfully accessing data.

His charges also relate to weapons, firearms and wildlife offences, as well as alleged destruction of evidence in relation to a major crash investigation.

Burbidge was charged with destroying evidence, conspiracy and attempting to pervert the course of justice, and providing a false statement.

The trio will appear in court on Thursday for a preliminary examination application which is expected to continue into Friday.

The hearing will determine whether or not the case will go onto the NT Supreme Court.

The pair were seen sitting side by side in Darwin Local Court on Thursday morning where Wright's case was mentioned.

The couple left the room hand-in-hand.

Wright, who was supported by his wife Kaia at Darwin Local Court on Thursday, has been committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court for one of the charges - attempting to pervert the course of justice - in January.

His other charges will be mentioned at a later date in June.

Outback Wrangler Matt Wright's helicopter company is being sued by the widow of crocodile egg collector Chris Wilson over the chopper crash which killed him.

Wilson's wife Danielle, 34, has lodged a law suit in the Federal Court suing Wright's helicopter charter company Helibrook and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

She is seeking damages, interest, costs, interest on costs and 'such other order as the court sees fit', The Australian reports.

An investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found fault with the safety procedures at Wright's Helibrook company which had put in place by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

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Mr Wilson and pilot Seb Robinson had set off on a crocodile egg collection operation in West Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory on February 28, 2022, when the helicopter went down.

Mr Wilson, 34, had been dangling from a sling 30m under the chopper to collect the eggs and was killed in the crash while Mr Robinson was left with life-changing spinal injuries.

The pair were part of a three-helicopter egg-collection mission to remote swamps using Matt Wright's Helibrook fleet of aircraft.

The crash scene was found when the other two aircraft began looking for Mr Wilson and Mr Robinson after they failed to respond to radio messages.

Wright immediately flew to the scene with former off-duty policeman Neil Mellon and helicopter pilot Michael Burbidge.

All three have been charged. No pleas have been entered but Wright has previously said he denies the allegations.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) recently released its report into the crash following an 18-month investigation.

It found the helicopter had crashed after running out of fuel.

The investigation also found low levels of cocaine in Mr Robinson's blood samples but added there was insufficient evidence to determine if he was affected at the time.

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