Typed onto a piece of paper given with the image: "As Los Angeles Welcomed Howard Hughes Los Angeles, Cal. -- The crowd gathered around the world-circling plane of Howard Hughes in the hangar at the Grand Central Air Terminal as Hughes and his companions on his record-breaking world flight alighted from the plane to receive the welcome home of Southern California. Hughes put his plane down at the airport and taxied it into the hangar all before alighting with his companions. Credit Line (ACME) 8/2/38 NY."
Description printed on photograph's accompanying strip of paper: "Next stop-- Moscow! Le Bourget, France---- After making minor repairs, Howard Hughes and his companions took off from Le Bourget, to complete their record-smashing circuit of the globe in 3 days and 19 hours. The photo shows the Hughes plane, 'World's Fair, 1939,' propellers whirling, just before the takeoff for Moscow, second leg of the world flight."
Howard Hughes speaks into two microphones as he gives a news conference beside the Douglas DC-3, after landing in New York. This was his first flight after the nearly fatal crash of the first XF-11. A number of officials and onlookers stand nearby.