The story of Arne Kruithof, the boy from Rotterdam who taught the hijacker of United Airlines Flight 93 to fly. This book describes the journey through life, of a boy born in 1963 in Rotterdam the Netherlands, who grew up in a polder landscape in a family with a Dutch father and a German mother. He does not complete his high school education and roams through Europe and North Africa. He cannot find his footing back in Holland and goes to America for pilot training. He sets up a flying school in Venice, Florida. On 9/11 it happens. Arne does not know that he has trained a hijacker till the FBI and Police are on his doorstep. With his life work, the flying school goes downhill, his father dies and his wife divorces him. A battle to survive starts. This is not just a book about 9/11 and the relationship between the hijacker and Arne, but a story about the many travels Arne has experienced. Today, he lives in Nokomis Florida, and dreams about his next adventure: a world sailboat tour accompanied by his two sons, Sebastian and Rafael.
About the Author: Arne Kruithof was born on October 10, 1963 in Rotterdam. His first few years were spent in the small town of Pernis. After that his parents bought a small piece of land ten miles east of Rotterdam, just outside a village called Berkenwoude. His father was an architect with the architectural firm Van Den Broek en Bakema. Often his grandfather and grandmother would come over from Germany. Grandmother would always bring homemade cookies and Grandfather would tell exciting stories about the Second World War. He was an SS officer and had fought in Finland against the Russians. He was wounded seriously by a grenade and was transported in a military ambulance back to a military hospital. The next day his entire squadron was destroyed by the Russians. His wounds from the day before had become his survival and enabled Arne's birth! On the days that Arne's parents were too busy at work, or the days that they would go on vacation together, Arne was dropped off and picked up at his grandparent's house in Germany. He would always return home spoiled. Because there was not much money in the family, the kitchen cabinets were just crates put on top of each other. There were no bedroom doors, only large curtains separating those rooms from the living room. There were always efforts made to save money on the electric bill, and if that day the boiler was empty, no one got a bath. Often the bath was shared by the entire family. Father would go first, followed by mother, and then the children. Growing up in the 1960s was an exciting time. His father as well as his mother were enthusiastic glider pilots and during the weekends and vacations, his parents would usually be on the glider field in Terlet. As a little boy Arne helped the landing and departing gliders. Arne went to the Rotterdamse Vrje school and was a child who always dreamed of adventure. Arne chose not to finish his schooling and was convinced that he would succeed without diplomas. He received an enormous amount of public attention after the attacks of 9/11. He had educated one of the hijackers and controversy erupted surrounding his relationship with Ziad Jarrah. After these events, Arne was encouraged by several publishers to tell his story. Arne, who had contributed to numerous documentaries, including works by Zembla, Al Jazeera, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, National Geographic, and several other networks, became, in one hit, famous-for the wrong reasons, as Arne says himself.