Penélope Cruz Says She Almost Died On a Plane With Salma Hayek

Penélope Cruz describes her near death experience with a smile on her face. But it’s not because the matter wasn’t serious, but because the incident which happened years ago in 2004 was on Halloween. The good part is that she was with her friend, Salma Hayek.

The Spanish actress, who is currently doing promotion for her new film Murder on the Orient Express, spoke on the topic of death to People magazine, in particular, the time she felt her life was in danger. She also talked about her frightening moment to Marie Claire.

“It was Halloween, and the two were en route to Mexico, where their upcoming film, Bandidas, was shot. Evidently, the two friends wanted to get a jump on the holiday. ‘There we were with these horrible clown wigs on — and all of a sudden, we had to make an emergency landing,’ Cruz said, describing, among other things, an alarming drop in cabin pressure and the deployment of the oxygen masks. ‘I couldn’t believe it, that this was the end. With Salma and me in Halloween costumes! I thought, This is such a weird way to die!’ Cruz lets the memory wash over her, shaking her head with both glee and disbelief. ‘After we landed I had a huge, hysterical crying attack, and all Salma said was, ‘Where’s the bar?’ Now we laugh about it, because we are so happy to be alive.'”

The actress also spoke about another moment, in which she experienced a close call during a diving expedition. She said she had something that resembles a panic attack, which we can definitely relate to.

In 2008, Penélope experienced another scary moment on a plane. According to the Huffington Post, the actress had to deplane because she was suffering from a panic attack. “She was freaking out and refused to fly,” a witness told the Huffington Post. But her publicist said a different story.

“There was no panic attack. The airline let her know there was going to be a 3 or 4 hour delay due to the storm. She had work so she figured she’d deplane and fly when the storm passed.”

Seems like Penélope and airplanes have a turbulent relationship.