Michel Vaujour had 28 years to serve for attempted murder and armed robbery; this was his fourth escape attempt. He made his way to the roof by threatening guards with a fake pistol and nectarines painted as grenades. On top of the jail he was picked up by his wife Nadine, who had taken helicopter pilot lessons especially for the escape. They landed at a nearby football pitch and fled in a waiting car.
The couple’s hideout was right back in Paris. Bold or foolish, they stayed in the city where they had just staged a daring escape. Three months later, they were caught not opening a charming coffee shop but robbing a bank—again. In the shootout that followed, Michel took a bullet to the head but survived. He was soon back in prison, his sixth escape attempt with a new accomplice, Jamila, ending in failure.
Nadine faced charges for her role in the jailbreak. Nevertheless, their bond remained unbroken. When asked about her extraordinary actions, Nadine famously said, “I would do it all over again.”
Nadine Vaujour, after serving her sentence, largely disappeared from the public eye. Her life since her involvement in the prison break has been shrouded in mystery, with little information about her current whereabouts. Some reports suggest she sought to live a quieter, more private life, far removed from the notoriety that the helicopter escape had brought her. The lack of public appearances and media engagement indicates that she may have distanced herself from her past.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_helicopter_prison_escapes
- https://www.readingolive.com/storyDetails?story=nadine-vaujour-the-woman-who-got-a-pilots-license-to-help-her-husband-escape-from-prison
https://www.dannydutch.com/post/the-daring-love-story-of-nadine-vaujour-the-french-woman-who-learned-to-fly-a-helicopter-to-break-h
“List of helicopter prison escapes” is a new addition to my favorite Wikipedia articles
Want to share some articles from your favorites list? I need some entries in my newly created one. ^^
It’s more of a mental list but here’s a few off the top of my head.
Hiroo Onoda - Japanese soldier who continued fighting 29 years after WW2
List of inventors killed by their own inventions
Sky Burial
Lists of lists of lists
I only knew that Wikipedia list existed due to a reference in XKCD
Bro didn’t know when to quit lol
Could have gone and became an action film actor at that point