Overview
- A Darwin Supreme Court jury unanimously found Wright guilty of lying about the crashed helicopter’s fuel level and of asking the injured pilot to falsify flight records.
- Jurors were unable to reach a verdict on a third count concerning an alleged direction to destroy maintenance records, leaving prosecutors to determine whether to pursue it.
- Acting Justice Alan Blow granted bail following the verdicts, with Wright’s legal team confirming an appeal has been initiated ahead of sentencing set for October.
- Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC characterised the offending as serious and indicated the prosecution will argue for actual imprisonment.
- The ATSB concluded the 2022 crash resulted from fuel exhaustion, and the charges focused on post‑crash obstruction as prosecutors alleged a motive linked to under‑reporting flight hours and falsified paperwork rather than causing the crash.