Former Florida man who unknowingly trained 9/11 terrorists dies of heart failure

A former Florida resident who unknowingly trained 9/11 terrorists has died in the Philippines from heart failure. He was 67.

Rudi Dekkers, who was born in the Netherlands, died last week in the Philippines of heart failure, according to a press release sent to WINK News.

The filmmakers of a documentary on the 20th anniversary of the attacks provided the release.

According to the filmmakers of the documentary he was featured in, Dekkers had been struggling with his health for years.

For those of us old enough to remember the icy stare of Mohammed Atta was the first face tied to the 9/11 attacks.

Amy Oshier was the reporter who got that photo, and another of his accomplices Marwin Al Shehhi, after Dekkers, the Venice flight school owner where they trained, slipped their driver’s licenses to her.

Oshier and her photographer surprised Dekker while government agents were at Huffman Aviation seizing documents days after 9/11.

Dekker wanted to tell his story: how he inadvertently taught two of the terrorists to fly planes.

Over the years, his willingness to speak made him a thorn in the government’s side.

He testified in front of Congress, wrote a book and was featured in a documentary on the 20th anniversary of the attacks.

Dekker went on to get in trouble for trafficking drugs and spent time in a Texas prison before being released and deported.

He desired to come back to the U.S., but he never did.