Court adjourns for the day

Just before sending the jury out for the day, Acting Justice Alan Blow says he received an inquiry from one of them "on a personal matter".

Justice Blow says the inquiry was seeking legal advice and he "shouldn't give legal advice".

"So, all I'll say is get some advice and don't believe everything everybody tells you," he told the jury.

That's it for today and we'll be back with more coverage when court resumes at 10am ACST tomorrow.

A final conversation with Willow

Wild Harvest NT general manager Craig Moore will be the last witness for today.

Mr Moore says he did not see Sebastian Robinson and Chris Wilson's helicopter being fuelled up before they left Mount Borradaile on the day of the crash.

"I came back across to see whether the boys needed a hand and Chris replied to me that they were OK," Mr Moore says.

"They were just milling around the machine as though they were getting prepared [to refuel]."

Mr Moore says he also did not see dual controls being used in the helicopter and recalled the final conversation he had with Mr Wilson.

"It's the last trip [for the season], be safe, don't take any risks and double up on collectors," he told "Willow".

"And that was the last parting word that I had."

Wild Harvest NT general manager testifies

Egg collector Jock Purcell has been excused.

The general manager of Mick Burns's crocodile egg-collecting company, Wild Harvest NT (WHNT), is now giving evidence about the types of fuel stored at Mount Borradaile.

Craig Moore has been shown photographs of blue fuel drums with an orange stripe and marked as belonging to WHNT.

Mr Moore says he took the photos on a later trip, about a month after the crash, to keep track of inventory and for the closure of the season.

"The following day, on the return leg to Darwin, we took some samples," he said.

Pilot had reputation as 'party animal', 'frequent' drug taker

Court has resumed following the afternoon break.

The court has heard that pilot Sebastian Robinson had a reputation as a "party animal" and was a "regular and frequent user of cocaine".

Under cross-examination by defence barrister David Edwardson KC, egg collector Jock Purcell agreed that Matt Wright had "a zero tolerance for drugs".

Mr Purcell also agreed Mr Robinson had been using cocaine in the months prior to the crash.

"He was well known for being a very big party animal, wasn't he?" Mr Edwardson asked, to which Mr Purcell replied, "Yeah".

"Partying involved alcohol and cocaine, didn't it?" the lawyer asked.

"Yeah," the pilot replied.

Mr Purcell also agreed that Mr Robinson would use Mr Wright's helicopters "from time to time, for his own personal use", including "fishing trips" and "partying with acquaintances".

And he agreed Mr Robinson would disconnect the aircraft's Hobbs meter "to disguise the fact he was using the helicopter in that way".

Later, Mr Purcell said he "couldn't say how often" Mr Robinson had used drugs and — under further questioning by Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC— agreed he had only personally seen him doing so once.

The court also heard Mr Purcell had been trying to help Mr Robinson "get his paperwork in order" after Mr Wright started "cracking the whip".

Mr Edwardson took Mr Purcell through a series of text messages between him and Mr Wright relating to helicopter flight records.

In one message, Mr Wright said: "Seb and Jock,work out what days this machine has been flown and make sure there's entries for the MR to put in today please".

Mr Purcell agreed with Mr Edwardson that Mr Wright was saying "get your act together, I need these MRs (maintenance releases) up to date".

"In a sense he was cracking the whip, making sure that things were done and up to date, correct?" Mr Edwardson asked.

"Yeah," Mr Purcell replied.

Who is involved in this trial?

As the jury has afternoon tea, let's recap some of the key players involved in this trial:

  • Matt Wright, the star of Netflix show Wild Croc Territory and National Geographic's Outback Wrangler, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice
  • Chris "Willow" Wilson died in the 2022 chopper crash and his wife Danielle is in court today
  • Sebastian Robinson, who is not in court today and is not facing any charges, was piloting the chopper when it crashed in 2022
  • Jock Purcell, a helicopter pilot and crocodile egg collector, has been giving evidence in court today
  • CareFlight paramedic Matthew Auld, who attended the crash scene in 2022, gave evidence in court this afternoon
  • Jason Gullaci SC is representing the prosecution
  • Solicitor Luke Officer and prominent barrister David Edwardson KC are representing Mr Wright's defence
  • Justice Alan Blow is presiding over the Supreme Court trial
Afternoon tea

The jury has now taken the afternoon break and will be back in about 20 minutes.

Pilot's paperwork 'very slack indeed'

Egg collector Jock Purcell has agreed, under cross-examination, that his friend, pilot Sebastian Robinson, was "very slack indeed" when it came to recording his flight times.

But he denied that Mr Robinson ever paid him for help with his paperwork and says he only assisted him "out of friendship".

Earlier, Mr Purcell said he had gone to Mr Robinson's home in the days after the crash to collect his pilot log book before his wife gave it to one of Mr Robinson's brothers.

"Seb asked that morning if he could get his log book off me and I was away," he said.

"Yes, they came and got it."

Egg collector cross-examined by the defence

CareFlight nurse Matthew Auld has been excused and defence barrister David Edwardson KC is now cross-examining the previous witness, pilot and egg collector Jock Purcell.

Mr Purcell says he went on a different crocodile egg collecting mission with Sebastian Robinson and another man the day before the crash.

He says they were supposed to leave in the morning but, after texting Mr Robinson, he replied: "I've been in bed and will be there at 3:30pm".

As a result, they didn't leave until that afternoon and came back sometime before dark.

Mr Purcell says he didn't see any pre-flight checks being done on Sebastian Robinson's helicopter the next day, when it was refuelling at Noonamah ahead of the fateful mission.

But he said "I saw Mudcrab do a fuel drain on his helicopter".

"Testing for water, so there's no water in the fuel tanks after you fill up," Mr Purcell said.

Dual controls 'not installed'

The trial is continuing now.

The next witness is CareFlight nurse Matthew Auld who was part of the crew that attended the fatal crash in 2022.

Mr Auld told the court he first confirmed Chris Wilson was deceased before helping stabilise Sebastian Robinson, and then stayed at the scene for about three hours to help repatriate Mr Wilson's body.

The witness says he heard discussions between Matt Wright and others present at the scene, about removing items from the helicopter.

"I heard [Mr Wright] wonder what happened to the helicopter in terms of, he said something like 'I wonder what the go is'," Mr Auld said.

"Some dual controls were removed from the helicopter as well as some other items such as fuel jerry cans.

"I know [the dual controls] were not installed, they were under a seat."

Inside a helicopter, dual controls allow both the pilot and a co-pilot to operate the aircraft.

What are Matt Wright's charges about?

While we're waiting for court to resume after lunch, let's recap what this trial is about.

Matt Wright is facing three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice over his alleged behaviour following the fatal 2022 chopper crash that claimed Chris "Willow" Wilson's life.

Those three counts relate to allegations Mr Wright:

  • attempted to provide false information during the crash investigation
  • avoided producing relevant original documents when asked
  • tried to manipulate helicopter flight records to "cover up" relevant information.

None of the charges against Mr Wright relate to the cause of the chopper crash and he has pleaded not guilty to all three counts.