Rudi Dekkers ditched his helicopter into the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers, FL. this morning, suffering only minor injuries.

Dekkers, who runs one of the twin 'terror flight schools' in Venice, FL. which trained three of the four pilots of the hijacked jets, was retrieved from the shallow water by a television news chopper flying in the vicinity, and ferried back to dry land.

"My engines quit above the river and I knew I had 28 gallons of fuel left, so it had to be something else," Dekkers explained to reporters.

"I really thought that this was the end."

Predictably, nothing is simple when it comes to the smooth-talking Dutch national, whose Huffman Aviation was a magnet for Mohamed Atta and his Hamburg cadre.

Even the quirky way the crash was reported to authorities will only deepen the mystery surrounding the 48-year old Dekkers, charged this month with felony fraud for failing to repay a $200,000 loan.

The helicopter pilot who retrieved Dekkers, Tony Douangdara, did not alert local officials to the scene, strangely enough, but only informed the FAA office in Naples of the mishap.

Waiter, there's a man in my pool.

According to a police spokeswoman, the Fort Myers Police only learned of the crash when a city resident called police about 7:25 am to report seeing a man in his pool.

It was only after police arrived that they discovered that the man in the pool had been piloting a helicopter that had just crashed into the Caloosahatchee River...

Dekkers told police he was in the pool because it was warmer there than waiting out in the chill 40 degree morning air. He was taken to a nearby hospital.

It may be just a freak coincidence—or it may not—but this is the second near-fatal aviation accident suffered in the past six months by the Dutch national owners of twin flight schools in Venice, FL.

Arne Kruithof, owner of Florida Flight Training and the second so-called ‘Magic Dutch Boy, was in a plane that crash-landed under suspicious circumstances after taking off from the Venice Airport last July.

(LINK: Earlier Mad Cow Morning News Exclusive
’Magic Dutch Boy’ Escapes Fiery Plane Crash
http://www.madcowprod.com/index27.html)

The remains of the plane were carted away with extraordinary haste after the crash. Within hours, it was at being compacted at a disposal site, frustrating any attempt to learn the reason for the crash.

Adding to his well-earned notoriety, Rudi Dekkers was charged with criminal fraud earlier this week. When told of his felony fraud indictment indictment by a reporter for the Venice Gondolier, Dekkers responded: "Wow. I'm surprised."

(LINK: Report From Venice Gondolier,
http://www.venicegondolier.com/NewsArchive3/011803/tp1vn6.htm)

Pandora's 9/11 box

Has Rudi Dekkers’ change in status— in the eyes of American authorities anyway—contributed in any way to his ill-timed dip in the drink?

Who would rather Dekkers didn't tell all to authorities—his enemies, or his friends?

Earlier this week an aviation observer at the Venice Airport explained Dekkers' arrest for criminal fraud in words that now seem strangely prophetic:

"He hasn't been protected for at least a month now."

This observer, who played a role in pointing out Dekker's transgressions to the appropriate authorities, indicated that the present 1-count indictment could just be the proverbial tip of the iceberg...

"This opens up Pandora's Box," he said simply.

We had just spent a year discovering that Dekkers has habitually engaged in shady business practices. So we wondered:

"Why now?"

The surprising answer, which seems to indicate the possibility that Rudi Dekker's role in the terrorist conspiracy in Florida may now be more closely examined, was this:

"Because he has embarrassed the President of the United States."

Here here.

(MULTIMEDIA LINK: See Dekkers Talk About His Mishap
http://www.nbc-2.com/News/stories/012403-helicopter.shtm)

Daniel Hopsicker is the author of Barry & 'the boys: The CIA, the Mob and America's Secret History. You can say "A Free Press Would Be A Good Idea" with a donation to keep the MadCowMorningNews alive. email the author.

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