Samuel Byck

A film based on his story, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, was released in 2004. The film starred Sean Penn as Bicke (the surname spelling having been changed).

Byck is one of the (failed) assassins portrayed in Stephen Sondheim's and John Weidman's 1991 musical Assassins. His role in the musical is built largely around his tapes sent to Leonard Bernstein and other famous public figures, which he is depicted recording during two scene-length monologues, the first addressed to Bernstein and the second to Nixon himself. Byck also wears a Santa Claus suit throughout the play in reference to an incident where he did so while protesting Nixon on Christmas Day in 1973.

In 1987, an FAA document entitled "Troubled Passage: The Federal Aviation Administration During the Nixon–Ford Term 1973–1977" was produced, which mentioned Byck's failed hijacking: "...though Byck lacked the skill and self-control to reach his target, he had provided a chilling reminder of the potential of violence against civil aviation. Under a more relaxed security system, his suicidal rampage might have begun when the airliner was aloft."

In early 1974, Byck made his decision to assassinate Nixon and started to stalk him and follow his movements via news outlets. He planned to do so by hijacking an airliner and crashing it into the White House on a day when Nixon would be there. It has been suggested (for instance, by the 2004 film dramatization of his life) that Byck was inspired by news reports of the buzzing of the White House by U.S. Army soldier Robert K. Preston in a stolen UH-1B Huey helicopter on February 17.

On Friday morning, February 22, 1974, Byck drove to the Baltimore/Washington International Airport. Shortly after 7:00 a.m. EST, he shot and killed Maryland Aviation Administration policeman George Neal Ramsburg before storming a DC-9, Delta Air Lines Flight 523 to Atlanta, which he chose because it was the closest flight that was ready to take off. Pilots Reese (Doug) Loftin and Fred Jones immediately complied with Byck's orders and calmly tried to reassure him that they would cooperate, then Loftin told Byck they could not take off with the doors to the aircraft open and then alerted the control tower and summoned police assistance while Byck left to close them. After the pilots told him they could not take off until wheel blocks were removed, he shot them both and grabbed a nearby passenger, ordering her to "fly the plane". Jones died as he was being removed from the aircraft after the event was concluded; Loftin survived the attack. Byck told a flight attendant to close the door, or he would blow up the plane. Anne Arundel County policemen attempted to shoot out the tires of the aircraft to prevent its take-off, but the .38 caliber bullets fired from their police-issued Smith & Wesson revolvers failed to penetrate the aircraft's tires and ricocheted off, some hitting the wing of the plane.

In 1972, Byck began to suffer from severe bouts of depression after his wife divorced him and 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 other 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.

Born to poor Jewish parents in South Philadelphia, Byck dropped out of high school in the ninth grade in order to support his impoverished family. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1954 and was honorably discharged in 1956. He married shortly thereafter, and fathered four children.

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 President Richard Nixon. During the incident, Byck killed a policeman and a pilot, but was shot and wounded by another policeman before committing suicide.