Salma Hayek has revealed one of the last thoughts she had when she believed she was going to die in a plane crash with her pal Penelope Cruz.
Actress Salma, 57, and fellow Hollywood star Penelope, 50, who have been friends for more than 20 years, had a terrifying experience when their plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Mexico.
Penelope already had a fear of flying and the pair realised something had gone wrong when a member of the crew dashed out of the cockpit and put on an oxygen mask.
During an interview for Vogue Arabia, Penelope asked Salma what she had learned from the hair-raising experience.
Salma told her: ‘You’ve always had a fear of flying and you always give me instructions of what to do if you die in a crash! [Laughs].
Salma Hayek (pictured) has revealed one of the last thoughts she had when she believed she was going to die in a plane crash with her pal Penelope Cruz
Actress Salma, 57, and fellow Hollywood star Penelope, 50, had a terrifying experience when their plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Mexico (L-R: Salma and Penelope pictured in 2006)
‘That day we were together on a flight and the plane had an emergency and had to land in the middle of nowhere in Mexico.
‘I knew it was going to happen because I saw the flight attendant coming out of the cockpit and grabbing oxygen.
‘So, I took your hands and said to you that we’re going to be OK. There is something wrong with the plane, but I need you to calm down. And I was so proud of you because I could see you struggling to calm yourself down.
‘We could do a whole movie about this! And then you said something so beautiful that I will never forget. You said, “I thought maybe we were going to die. But we were going to die together. And we were going to be OK”.’
Penelope previously tried to make light of the situation when she recounted the incident, saying she was dressed in full clown costume at the time.
She told People: ‘I had an emergency landing on Halloween day with my friend Salma and because it was Halloween we were dressed as clowns.
‘And I never liked clowns but after that experience, if you can even less. I cannot stand seeing a clown after that.’
She added: ‘We were 100 people on that flight and thank God I’m here to tell you the story but it was crazy because we were all wearing costumes.
Penelope already had a fear of flying and the pair realised something had gone wrong when a member of the crew dashed out of the cockpit and put on an oxygen mask (L-R: Penelope and Salma pictured in 2006)
‘It was really crazy, when I tell this story people think I’m making it up.’
Meanwhile, Penelope recetly opened up about the kindness Salma showed her at the beginning of her career.
During Cruz’s first time in Los Angeles she was supposed to be put up at a hotel, but Hayek insisted she stay at her home.
‘When I [went] to LA the first time, we didn’t know each other, only on the phone,’ Penelope said during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
‘I got here with a ticket to make a movie. I had my return ticket. So I was coming here for two months and I didn’t know anyone here.
‘She picked me up at the airport and she said, “You’re not going to the hotel. You’re coming to my house because this is hard at the beginning. And you’re gonna feel very lonely”. So she took me to her house.
As Salma believed she was about to plummet to the ground in a plane crash, she took comfort in the possibility of dying alongside her friend Penelope (L-R: Salma and Penelope in 2000)
‘That’s why now we’re like sisters. I ended up also sleeping in her room because I was scared.’
‘And, you know, that’s the way we met. And on top of that, in the middle of the night, she says that I was holding her hand because I was afraid.
‘I don’t know, I was dreaming.’
When Ellen mentioned that it was ‘really sweet’ of Hayek to take her in, Cruz said, ‘It was amazing that someone I really didn’t know, only on the phone, she made sure she picked me up at the airport and she didn’t let me go to the hotel.’
