A recap of today's evidence

Sebastian Robinson, the pilot injured in the chopper crash at the centre of Matt Wright's trial, finished giving evidence today after four days in the stand.

Here's a summary of what was heard today:

  • Mr Robinson was questioned about Mr Wright's visit to him in hospital in the weeks after the crash
  • He denied the defence's suggestion a conversation the pair had about manipulating flight hours "never happened", and said he remembers Mr Wright deleting notes from the pilot's phone
  • The jury heard Mr Robinson's brother Zac Chellingworth had access to the downed chopper as an aircraft engineer and shared inside information with him about it
  • Mr Robinson said he did not get workers compensation for spinal and brain injuries he suffered in the crash
  • Mr Robinson said Mr Wright became "hostile and abusive" after his pilots called off a crocodile egg-collecting mission due to safety concerns a month before the fatal crash

Mr Robinson's brother Jacob Robinson then took the stand.

He said while visiting Mr Robinson in hospital after the crash, he was "pressured " into handing over a flight logbook to one of Mr Wright's colleagues, Tim Johnston.

Jurors heard Mr Robinson's mother then rang Mr Johnston and asked him to hand back the logbook, which he did.

We'll be back with you when the trial resumes at 10am ACST Monday. 

Have a great weekend.

Court adjourns

Jacob Robinson has now concluded his evidence and the court has adjourned for the day and the week.

We'll be back with more live updates from the trial of Matt Wright from 10am ACST Monday.

Pilot's brother 'pressured' into handing over logbook

Sebastian Robinson's brother Jacob Robinson says he was initially told the helicopter pilot "wasn't going to make it" after a crash that ultimately left him a paraplegic.

In giving evidence on Friday, Mr Robinson said the family was later told Sebastian had undergone emergency surgery "to try to stabilise him" before he was then sent to Brisbane for further treatment.

Mr Robinson said he followed his brother to Brisbane and was able to visit him in hospital there for the first time since the accident.

He said it was there he encountered "a bloke I'd never met before" who identified himself as a colleague of Matt Wright'sTim Johnston, and asked for some of his possessions.

"He said he wants the phone and the logbook and I told him he wasn't getting the phone," he said.

"Did he tell you who had asked him to do it?" Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC asked.

"Yes, Matt," Mr Robinson replied.

"I got pressured into giving him the logbook because my mother wasn't present at the time.

"As soon as I gave it to him he pretty much took off."

Mr Robinson said when he told his mother "she pretty much started crying and said I shouldn't have done that" before ringing Mr Johnston and asking him to return the logbook, which he did.

Pilot concludes his evidence, brother takes the stand

Pilot Sebastian Robinson has now finished his evidence.

The next witness is Mr Robinson's brother Jacob Robinson.

Texts between Matt Wright, egg-collecting colleagues read out

Jurors in Matt Wright's trial have been read a series of text messages between the Netflix star's colleagues in the wake of an argument over an aborted egg-collecting trip.

Chopper pilot Sebastian Robinson earlier told the jury Mr Wright had become "hostile and abusive" after he and another pilot called off the mission due to monsoonal rain.

Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC read from a text from the other pilot on the trip, Michael Burbidge to crocodile farmer Mick Burns.

"Heading home, big water, going to call it and head out tomorrow, big winds!" he said Mr Burbidge wrote.

"Good call, thanks," he said Mr Burns replied.

In another message, Mr Gullaci said Mr Robinson told Mr Burbidge he had told Mr Wright to "get f***ed on the phone" after he "called us all bludgers".

"He is losing his shit? What's the big deal, we called it due to weather, I don't know how you mob put up with it??" he said Mr Burbidge wrote.

"He has called everyone but me. What's he going to do if you don't fly his heli??"

Mr Gullaci said Mr Robinson replied: "Apparently his boys are supposed to be working for him tomorrow, everything revolves around him, he can get f***ed."

He said Mr Burbidge then said: "I hope you mob all tell him!! This is going a bit far talking to you mob like shit!!"

The following day, Mr Gullaci said Mr Wright then texted Mr Robinson.

"Sebby, sorry for blowing up yesterday, I know you boys have been going hard and doing a great job, very appreciative of that," he read.

"When I heard everyone pulled the pin at 10am and went to the pub I was pretty pissed and shouldn't have blown up at you and Willow.

"Thanks for having my back this year and getting the job done, catch up soon, Matt."

Afternoon tea

The jurors have taken their afternoon break and will be back in about 20 minutes.

Matt Wright became 'very hostile and abusive' after pilots call off egg-collection

Sebastian Robinson says Matt Wright became "very hostile and abusive" after the pilot called off an egg-collecting mission a month before the fatal crash due to safety reasons.

Under re-examination by Crown prosecution Jason Gullaci SC, Mr Robinson said he had been on a mission at the mouth of the Daly River when a storm broke.

"It was huge, it was a mother of a monsoon, it was across the whole horizon, coming at us very fast," he said.

"I'd slung Willow out on a nest and we decided it was too dangerous to continue."

Mr Robinson said he and fellow pilot Michael Burbidge agreed the operation had become unsafe and headed back to Darwin and "the storm chased us all the way back to town".

Mr Robinson said when he got back he headed to the Noonamah Tavern "for Australia Day, to watch the ute run and have a beer and a feed" when Mr Wright called.

"[He was] very hostile, very hostile and abusive," he said.

"He said 'What the f*** are youse doing back? Egg collecting's not meant to be f***ig easy, you sit out there, you wait the weather out, you f***ing deal with it and f***ing get on with the job'."

"How did you react?" Mr Gullaci asked.

"I told him to get f***ed, get vaccinated and fly his own helicopter," Mr Robinson said.

Pilot got no workers compensation for spinal, brain injuries

Pilot Sebastian Robinson says he never received any workers compensation for the catastrophic injuries he suffered in a helicopter crash in Arnhem Land in 2022.

"Before I was a pilot and I was an egg-collector we were instructed that we were sub-contractors but workers compensation would be covered by WHNT [Wild Harvest NT]," Mr Robinson said.

"As I progressed into flying, I always assumed that because WHNT covered everyone's workers compensation that I didn't need to have my own workers compensation.

"For the eight, nine years that I was collecting, that's how it went."

Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC asked Mr Robinson who he thought would be liable to pay workers compensation if he was injured.

"I thought it was either WHNT or [Matt Wright's company] Helibrook," Mr Robinson said.

Matt Wright was a 'standover sort of person'

Defence barrister David Edwardson KC has now finished his questions and Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC is re-examining him.

Mr Gullaci took Mr Robinson to a police interview from September 2022 when he told police "Matt Wright was a pretty, sort of, standover sort of person".

"Can you explain what you meant by that?" Mr Gullaci asked.

"Everyone sort of idolised him, he was a celebrity in everyone's eyes and everyone that worked for him thought that was a very good job," he said.

"He had this aura about him of whatever he wanted you to do, that you do it, and you do it to try to make him happy and to make yourself look good in front of him."

Pilot asked mother for 'green'

Defence barrister David Edwardson KC has shown pilot Sebastian Robinson text messages between him and his mother from 2020 and 2021.

In one message, Mr Edwardson says Mr Robinson wrote "Aunty Di got me green" and in another "Can you see if Johnny's got any green?"

"Green is marijuana, isn't it?" Mr Edwardson asked.

"I think so yeah, yes it is," Mr Robinson responded.

Mr Edwardson then reminded Mr Robinson of his earlier evidence that he was "not a marijuana smoker".

"I may have smoked marijuana a very small amount of times in my life but I'm not a marijuana smoker," he said.

"But nonetheless you were, on two separate occasions, trying to source green?" Mr Edwardson asked.

"In 2020 and 2021, yes."