helicopter. abc s eva pilgrim reporting tonight from paris. reporter: tonight, a massive manhunt for 46-year-old redoine faid. the french gangster, serving a 25-year sentence for murder, now on the run after this breathtaking helicopter escape from this prison south of paris. three accomplices in masks hijacked the helicopter, using guns to force the pilot to fly to the jail. they flew it here and hovered between that yellow and the red building, it s a pretty small space to hover. two of the men jumped out, setting off smoke bombs, before breaking into the visitors room where faid was meeting with his brother, whisking him away. the chopper later found burnt. the men last seen switching cars, heading north. but investigators say they ve ditched that car tonight. this isn t faid s first prison break. in 2013, he escaped by blowing up doors with dynamite, using four guards as human shields. the notorious french gangster telling a magazine he took his