Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev with President Dwight D. Eisenhower at Camp David on September 25, 1959. Krushev had taken a tour of the United States stopping at several cities and giving a speech at the United Nations. The itinerary had the Soviet premier traveling to Washington, D.C., New York, California, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and back to Camp David. Both Eisenhower and Khrushchev hoped the visit would foster a mutual understanding and potentially help thaw Cold War tensions. 

The itinerary had the Soviet premier traveling to Washington, D.C., New York, California, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and back to Camp David. Both Eisenhower and Khrushchev hoped the visit would foster a mutual understanding and potentially help thaw Cold War tensions. President Eisenhower and Premier Krushev spent Friday, Sept. 25, 1959, and Saturday, September 26, 1959, at Camp David. On Monday, September 27th Eisenhower and Krushev left Camp David by car to return to Washington. Later that evening Khrushchev and his entourage depart from Andrews Air Force Base for Moscow.

Khrushchev flew to the U.S. in the Soviets' new Tupolev 114 aircraft. The massive TU-114 could make the trip from Moscow to Washington without stopping. Once at Andrews AFB, the Soviet engineers detected several cracks in the fuselage, but Khrushchev insisted on flying home in this showpiece of Soviet technology.