Delta Air Lines Flight 523

Samuel Joseph Byck (January 30, 1930 – February 22, 1974) was an American hijacker and attempted assassin. On February 22, 1974, he attempted to hijack a plane flying out of Baltimore/Washington International Airport, intending to crash into the White House in the hopes of killing U.S. President Richard Nixon. Byck killed an airport policeman and the plane's copilot and wounded the pilot, but Byck was shot and wounded by another policeman before committing suicide.

Background

In 1972, Byck began to suffer from severe bouts of depression after his wife divorced him and he had several job-related financial failures. He admitted himself to a psychiatric ward, for a two-month stay. Byck began to harbor the belief that the Nixon administration was conspiring to oppress the poor.

Byck came to the notice of the Secret Service in 1972, when he threatened Nixon, whom he had resented since the Small Business Administration had turned down his loan application. Byck had also sent tape recordings to various Jewish public figures (including scientist Jonas Salk, Senator Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut, and composer Leonard Bernstein) and had tried to join the Black Panthers. The Secret Service considered Byck to be harmless, and no action was taken at that time.