The month-long criminal trial of celebrity crocodile wrangler Matt Wright unearthed a culture of helicopter maintenance and safety breaches by his company.

But he's not the only one believed to have engaged in such practices — some say they've been happening in Australia's north for decades.

An R44 chopper, stationary in Darwin. ( ABC News: Michael Parfitt )

It was just after dawn on February 28, 2022.

Three helicopters took off from rural Darwin, to embark on a dangerous mission harvesting wild crocodile eggs from a remote river system.

Only two of them would ever return.

In incredibly isolated bushland near the King River, in western Arnhem Land, one of the choppers ran into trouble.

With a pilot onboard and a croc egg collector hanging from a harness underneath, the aircra

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