Samuel Joseph Byck 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.
A Delta Air Lines McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30, similar to the one involved.
Suicide by pilot is an aviation event in which a pilot deliberately crashes or attempts to crash an aircraft as a suicide act, with or without the intention of causing harm to passengers on board or people on the ground. If others are killed, it may be considered a type of murder–suicide. It is suspected to have been a possible cause in several commercial flight crashes and has been confirmed as the cause in other instances. Determining the motives of pilots can be challenging for crash investigators, as pilots may intentionally disable recording devices or engage in other actions to impede future investigations. Consequently, definitively proving pilot suicide can be difficult.
This Airbus A320, operating as Germanwings Flight 9525, was deliberately crashed into the Alps by a suicidal co-pilot on 24 March 2015, killing all 150 people on board.
United Airlines Flight 175 was deliberately crashed into 2 World Trade Center as part of the September 11 attacks.
Suicide attacks on the World Trade Center
Image: Piper PA 28 236Dakota C GGFS Photo 4