July 01, 2018
The first time Redoine Faid escaped from prison five years ago, he blasted his way out with explosives.
French convict escapes prison again -- this time with a hijacked helicopter
He was caught, locked up and given more time behind bars. But on Sunday, he managed to escape again -- by hitching a ride on a hijacked helicopter.
Faid, one of France's most notorious criminals, was serving 25 years in prison for his role in a failed 2010 robbery that resulted in the death of French police officer Aurélie Fouquet.
He was also given 10 years for his brazen 2013 prison escape, the Paris prosecutor's office said.
Faid's latest flight from prison came after two or three heavily armed men hijacked a helicopter and forced the pilot to fly to Faid's prison in Seine-et-Marne, near Paris, the French Interior Ministry said.
After picking Faid up Sunday, the armed men forced the pilot to fly them to the Val d'Oise region, northwest of Paris, before releasing the pilot unharmed and fleeing in an unidentified vehicle, the Interior Ministry said.
It was not immediately clear how Faid was able to get access to the hijacked helicopter.
But news of his second escape "devastated" the parents of the slain officer, the family's attorney told CNN affiliate BFM-TV.
Attorney Laurent-Frank Lienard said Fouquet's parents are certain Faid "was involved at the highest level in the robbery attempt that led to Aurélie Fouquet's death."
Faid was convicted of masterminding the failed 2010 robbery. Two other men were sentenced for her murder.
But Faid "always denied his involvement in the case," his former lawyer Christian Saint-Palais said.
"He considered himself the victim of an injustice. He felt he was wrongly incarcerated," Saint-Palais told the newspaper Le Parisien. "And for him, that could justify recovering his freedom if the opportunity arose."
Police have now mobilized and are guarding borders to try to catch the fugitive, the interior ministry said.

A veteran prison escapee
Back in April 2013, Faid held five people -- including four guards -- at gunpoint at a detention center in the northern city of Lille, officials said.
He then detonated explosives to destroy five doors, penitentiary union spokesman Etienne Dobrometz told CNN affiliate BFMTV. It was not clear how he got the gun and explosives.
French convict escapes prison again -- this time with a hijacked helicopter
Faid grew a beard and wore a wig while on the run. After an international manhunt that spanned dozens of countries, he was captured at a hotel east of Paris and locked up in a different prison.
While Faid's escape Sunday via helicopter may seem shocking, it's actually the latest in a long history of French inmates escaping into the sky.
One inmate, Pascal Payet, used a helicopter for three separate prison escapes, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
The Frenchman first used a helicopter to flee from a Luynes prison in 2001. Two years later, while still a fugitive, he helped inmates from the same prison escape by chopper.
He was eventually caught, but then he escaped for the third time in 2007 using a helicopter hijacked by four men.
Payet and his accomplices fled, and the pilot was not harmed. Eventually, Payet was recaptured in Spain.
And back in the 1980s, the wife of another French inmate was so determined to get her husband out of prison that she took helicopter flight lessons just for the escape.
Michel Vaujour, was serving a lengthy sentence for attempted murder and armed robbery. In May 1986, the Chicago Tribune reported, Michel Vaujour "forced his way onto the prison's roof by wielding nectarines that were painted to look like grenades."
His wife, Nadine Vaujour, then picked him up in a helicopter and whisked him away to a football field, where they landed and drove away.
But their luck soon ran out.
Nadine Vaujour was discovered and arrested in southwestern France. Michel was later shot in the head during a failed bank robbery, but survived.
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.