How A Would-Be Richard Nixon Assassin Hijacked A 747 Airplane
National Archives and Records AdministrationPresident Richard Nixon on the campaign trail in 1972.
Samuel Byck deeply hated President Richard Nixon. After Byck was denied a Small Business Loan from the government, the mentally ill Philadelphia man focused all of his vitriol on the commander-in-chief. And on February 22, 1974, he set out to crash a 747 into the White House.
“By guise, threats, or trickery, I hope to force the pilot to buzz the White House — I mean, sort of dive towards the White House,” Byck explained on a recording he sent to newspaper columnist Jack Anderson.
“When the plane is in this position, I will shoot the pilot and then in the last few minutes try to steer the plane into the target, which is the White House.”
On that February morning, Byck stormed the Baltimore/Washington International Airport with a stolen gun and an incendiary device in an attaché briefcase. After shooting an airport policeman, he forced his way onto Delta Flight 523 to Atlanta and demanded that the pilots take off.
Bettmann/Getty ImagesSamuel Byck, seen here protesting in Philadelphia, long held a grudge against Nixon.
As the pilots tried to reason with him — the plane wasn’t even ready for take-off yet — Byck shot them both. He then grabbed a passenger and demanded that she “fly the plane.”
But Byck’s murderous plans were quickly unraveling. More policemen had charged toward the plane after hearing screams and gunshots, and one officer fired at Byck through the airplane window. Byck then shot himself.
Samuel Byck ultimately failed to kill the president, but Nixon’s presidency did come to a premature end. Less than six months later, the president abruptly resigned from office following the Watergate scandal.
Byck’s story was later fictionalized in a 2004 movie called The Assassination of Richard Nixon.
