I have a Netherlands Antilles Commercial Helicopter license (number 54 if I remember correctly) and they are only issued as a validation of your foreign license. To my knowledge there is no program in place to issue non-validation NA helicopter licenses at all.
I suspect that the license mentioned is the commercial license to operate a helicopter company in St. Maarten...which according to his own company's website "they were wrapping up" when this happened. So under what license did he fly the previous 3 years then?
Also, according to this website
AIR ST. MAARTEN - Leeward Islands Helicopters
he had "recently celebrated the signing of the last pertinent document allowing his company, Leeward Islands Helicopters, to execute helicopter tours from his helipad located at Port de Plaisance and from the cruise terminal in Philipsburg."
again, something he has been doing for the last three years (starting with an N-reg machine), with the possible exception of the cruise terminal.
From reading the st. maarten island times online I got the impression that he had just returned from St. Kitts and was at the airport when he got the call to go to Saba...so did he return from St. Kitts at night then?
Is there no control at Juliana anymore? Should be interesting to read the report on this one.