List of helicopter prison escapes

There have been multiple prison escapes where an inmate escapes by means of a helicopter. One of the earliest instances was the escape of Joel David Kaplan, nicknamed "Man Fan", on August 19, 1971, from the Santa Martha Acatitla in Mexico.^[3][4] Kaplan was a New York businessman who not only escaped the prison but eventually got out of Mexico and went on to write a book about his experience, The 10-Second Jailbreak.^[5]

France has had more recorded helicopter prison escape attempts than any other country, with at least 11.^[6] One of the most notable French jail breaks occurred in 1986, when the wife of bank robber Michel Vaujour studied for months to learn how to fly a helicopter. Using her newly acquired skills, she rented a white helicopter and flew low over Paris to take her husband from the roof of his fortress prison. Vaujour was later seriously wounded in a shootout with police where he was shot in the head and his wife was arrested.^[2]

The record for most helicopter escapes goes to convicted murderer Pascal Payet, who has used helicopters to escape from prisons in 2001, 2003, and most recently 2007.^[7]

Another multiple helicopter escapee is Vassilis Palaiokostas, who on February 22, 2009, escaped for the second time from the same prison.^[8]

To thwart attempts of this nature, many prisons have taken precautions such as nets or cables strung over open prison courtyards.^[9]

This list includes prisoner escapes where a helicopter was used in an attempt to free prisoners from a place of internment, a prison or correctional facility.