Australia’s aviation regulator has lost its bid to be removed from a lawsuit brought by the widow of Outback Wrangler star Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson over her husband’s helicopter death.
Mr Wilson plunged to his death in a remote area of the Northern Territory in February 2022 while dangling from a helicopter owned by his television series co-star Matt Wright as he collected crocodile eggs.
His widow Danielle Wilson filed Federal Court proceedings in 2023 against Mr Wright, his company Helibrook, and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) over the crash.
The mother-of-two is seeking damages for personal injury and from the loss of her husband’s income.
But the aviation authority argued on Wednesday it should be struck out of the lawsuit because Ms Wilson couldn’t reasonably succeed with the ‘frivolous’ suit.
Its lawyer said Helibrook was to blame for Mr Wilson’s death because it had failed to comply with the safety regulations set by CASA.
The helicopter operator was permitted to harvest crocodile eggs using a sling but only when the aircraft was less than five metres from the ground.
‘Had Helibrook and the pilot complied with CASA’s conditions, the accident wouldn’t have occurred and Mr Wilson wouldn’t have died,’ Russell McIlwaine SC, acting for CASA, said.
Widow Danielle Wilson welcomed the Federal Court ruling on Wednesday
It’s been three years since Danielle’s husband Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson tragically died. Pictured are the couple
Mr McIlwaine argued the regulator could not be held responsible for the TV star’s death when the helicopter operator did precisely what it was told not to do.
But Ms Wilson’s lawyer said the regulator’s breach of its duty of care was a ‘significant cause’ of Mr Wilson’s death.
David Lloyd SC accused CASA of failing to undertake adequate risk assessment and conduct proper oversight over Helibrook’s operation, including its use of a sling for crocodile egg retrieval.
‘Mr Wilson should never have been in the air… and CASA should never have approved activities of that kind,’ Mr Lloyd said.
Justice Elizabeth Raper agreed the claims against the aviation regulator were not untenable.
She dismissed CASA’s application and ordered it to pay the widow’s costs.
Outside court, Ms Wilson noted it has been more than three years since she lost her husband ‘in the most tragic of circumstances’.
‘I’m pleased that today in court we heard that we do have an arguable case against CASA,’ she said.
Mr Wilson (right) is pictured alongside pilot Simon Robinson (left) who was flying the helicopter at the time of his co-star’s tragic death
Mr Robinson suffered lifelong injuries in the helicopter crash following the emergency landing in which he released the hooks and sling line carrying Mr Wilson
An Australian Transport Safety Bureau report into the accident found the chopper’s engine stopped mid-flight because of a lack of fuel.
During the emergency landing, pilot Sebastian Robinson released hooks and the sling line carrying Mr Wilson.
Mr Robinson, who survived the incident but suffered life-long injuries, was found to not have refuelled when necessary and had traces of cocaine in his system.
A former pilot and friend of Wilson who was on the scene soon after the crash, was later convicted and fined $15,000 for destroying the mobile phone of the Netflix series star.
Ms Wilson filed federal proceedings against her late husband’s co-star Matt Wright, his company Helibrook and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority in 2023. Mr Wright is pictured with his influencer wife Kaia
