It sounds like something straight out of a movie, but it really happened. In 1986, a woman named Nadine Vaujour actually learned how to fly a helicopter just to rescue her husband from prison. Her plan worked perfectly, at least for a while, but in the end, both of them landed right back where they started: behind bars.
Nadine was 32 years old and deeply in love with her husband, Michel Vaujour, who was serving an 18-year sentence for armed robbery at La Santé Prison in Paris. Instead of giving up, Nadine decided to do the impossible. She spent months taking flying lessons in secret. She wasn’t a criminal or even a trained pilot—just a determined wife who wanted her husband back.
On May 26, 1986, Nadine rented a small white helicopter from a flight club near Paris. Pretending everything was normal, she took off and headed straight for the prison. Around 10:30 a.m., she hovered above the prison walls while guards below stared in disbelief. Michel, waiting with another inmate, ran to the roof. They had even come up with a clever distraction—reports of grenades inside the prison, which were actually fake ones made from painted fruit. The guards froze, unsure what to do.
Nadine lowered the helicopter just enough for Michel to climb aboard. They lifted off smoothly, escaping into the Paris sky before anyone could react. The second prisoner lost his nerve and stayed behind, but Nadine and Michel were free.
The couple landed in a nearby field and escaped in a waiting car. For months, they hid in the French countryside, surviving off small robberies and keeping a low profile. The media went wild with the story. To some, Nadine was a symbol of love and bravery. To others, she was reckless and foolish.
Their freedom didn’t last long. In September 1986, the police found them during another robbery attempt. Michel was shot in the head during a shootout but somehow survived. Both were arrested. Nadine, who had risked everything for love, now joined her husband in prison.
Michel received another 16 years, while Nadine served two. After her release, she left her old life behind and reportedly lived quietly. The two later divorced, and Michel remarried after being freed in 2003.
Their story became famous in France. Nadine wrote a book called La Fille de l’air (“The Girl of the Sky”), and Michel later published his own memoir about love, patience, and finding peace through yoga. Their wild escape remains one of France’s most unforgettable true stories, a mix of romance, crime, and tragedy that sounds almost too unbelievable to be real.
