The incredible story of Rudi Dekker

The life story of Rudi Dekker read like a fairy tale. To some extent. A poor Amsterdam boy who made his fortune trading computer parts. When he had enough money, he pushed through to his real dream: starting a flight school. And in the sun, no less. So he started not one, but two flight schools in Miami. His life was sun-drenched.

9/11 was initially not very different for Rudi than for the rest of the world. He watched in shock as the images of the planes piercing the Twin Towers unfolded. Disbelief and horror. But then came a phone call. The FBI. If they could see the files of two former students. Specifically, Mohamed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi.

From that one phone call, his life was completely shattered.
“It was as if I stepped out of myself. As if my mind left my body,” Rudi says in a documentary now available on Videoland. Of course, he remembered the two men who took a flying course in 2000. They had been rude and disrespectful. Even towards women. “We didn’t know he was a terrorist, he was just a jerk.”

But now all the puzzle pieces fell into place. That’s why they only wanted to learn to take off and steer. Landing didn’t matter.

Now he knew why.
Did Rudi choose the right strategy? Probably not. He decided to cooperate and give interviews. Somehow that also infected him. His business went bankrupt, his marriage fell apart. His fellow flight school owner, who chose to stay in the background, was able to continue his flight school.

For Rudi, in his perception, there was nothing else to do but walk the wrong path. Swallowing pills, dealing coke.

How is Rudi doing now? According to the documentary maker, he is at least leading a happy life. And for the true ending, I’ll watch Videoland tonight.

Image: Videoland