Helicopter operators have been warned by the air safety watchdog it has zero tolerance for rule breakers following a high-profile trial of a reality TV star.
Aircraft operators have been urged to dob in people who ‘game the system’ following reality TV star Matt Wright’s high-profile trial over a fatal chopper crash.
The national air safety watchdog has warned it will have ‘zero tolerance’ for anyone disregarding the rules after focusing on Northern Territory helicopters following allegations made in the Wright trial.
Civil Aviation Safety Authority CEO Pip Spence on Wednesday called for industry operators to help by alerting them about any wrongdoing.
‘Our surveillance tells us most people obey the rules but based on the public commentary, there may well be a minority of people attempting to game the system,’ she said.
The warning follows the Outback Wrangler star’s Darwin trial, where the former helicopter operator was found guilty of two charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice by tampering with evidence in August.
During the trial Wright and pilots employed by his now-grounded company Helibrook were accused of regularly disconnecting flight-time meters and falsifying paperwork.
Wright was charged following the February 2022 chopper crash that killed his best mate and co-star Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson and left pilot Sebastian Robinson a paraplegic.
Civil Aviation Safety Authority has put aircraft operators on notice in the wake of Outback Wrangler Matt Wright’s highly-publicised trial (Wright and his wife Kaia are pictured)
A fatal chopper crash in February 2022 (pictured) prompted additional scrutiny of helicopters operating in the NT
Wright was accused of lying to crash investigators about the amount of fuel in the machine, of trying to get Mr Robinson to falsify flying hours and of asking a friend to ‘torch’ the helicopter’s maintenance release.
A Supreme Court jury found him guilty on the first two counts but could not reach agreement on the third count regarding the ‘torch’ claim.
The prosecution did not allege Wright caused the chopper crash, the death of Mr Wilson or Mr Robinson’s injuries.
Wright is appealing his two convictions and has been granted bail ahead of a December sentencing hearing.
In a briefing note to about 45,000 aircraft operators, the authority said the matter had prompted extra scrutiny of NT helicopters.
‘Let me be clear, we have zero tolerance for serious, wilful or repeated disregard of the aviation rules and any interference with aircraft that affects safety,’ Ms Spence said.
‘We can’t be everywhere and see everything so we need credible reports from industry that alert us to people doing the wrong thing.’
A spokesperson said the authority had a planned surveillance schedule including checks by inspectors across northern Australia.
Wright was found guilty of attempting to pervert course of justice following a helicopter crash that killed his mate Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson (pictured)
‘Our surveillance has not identified any systemic disregard of safety regulations,’ they said in a statement.
Wright is expected to be sentenced on December 12.