She Flew a Helicopter Into a Prison for Love — But What Happened to Her After?

After breaking her husband out of a Paris prison by helicopter in 1986, Nadine Vaujour was arrested, jailed, and later separated from Michel.

In 1986, Nadine Vaujour pulled off a daring helicopter prison break to free her husband Michel, jailed for armed robbery and attempted murder. While the escape was successful, Nadine was arrested months later and sentenced to prison herself. Michel was eventually recaptured after being shot in a police standoff. The couple, once bound by a dramatic love story, later separated. Their romance, though legendary, ended far from the fairy tale it once seemed.

On a quiet morning in 1986, Paris witnessed a scene that felt ripped straight from a movie script. At 10:30 a.m. on May 26, a small rented helicopter suddenly appeared above the high walls of La Santé prison. At the controls was Nadine Vaujour, a woman who had learned to fly for one daring mission — to break her husband Michel Vaujour out of jail.

Michel had been sentenced to 18 years in prison for armed bank robbery and attempted murder. But for Nadine, love knew no bounds. Determined to reunite with him, she secretly took flying lessons, earned her private pilot’s license, and began renting helicopters in southern Paris — paying in cash and raising no alarms.

Inside prison, Michel and his accomplice, Pierre Hernandez, were preparing for the escape. Since there was no space for a proper landing, they planned to rush to the roof. To distract the guards, they painted nectarines green to resemble grenades, tricking officials into holding their fire.

As Nadine hovered over the roof, chaos broke out inside. Michel and Pierre ran across the rooftop and climbed aboard the helicopter. Minutes later, the aircraft landed in an athletic field in southern Paris, where the couple jumped into a waiting getaway car and vanished.

But their freedom didn’t last long.

What Happened to Nadine After the Escape?

Just months after the escape, Nadine was arrested and charged for her role in helping Michel flee. She was sentenced to prison herself, showing that even the most romantic acts don’t escape the rule of law.

Michel, too, was eventually recaptured — not in silence, but in violence. He was seriously injured in a police shootout, ending his time as a fugitive. The couple’s story, once seen as an epic tale of love and rebellion, came to a quiet, tragic end. In the years that followed, Nadine and Michel separated.

Though their story began with a fearless act of love, it ended in jail time, pain, and distance — a reminder that real life rarely mirrors fairy tales.