'We were going to die': Salma Hayek recalls horrific plane ride with Penelope Cruz before emergency landing
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz represent the quintessence of 'friends forever' within the Hollywood system, consistently encouraging one another's pursuits and willing to provide a hand in any circumstance.
Salma, 57, and Penelope, 50, recently revisited one of the most horrific scenarios—a terrifying plane crash—they have gone through together in their 20 years of friendship in the industry.
They had a nightmare when their airplane was forced to make an emergency landing in Mexico, per Daily Mail.
Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek remember emergency plane mishap
In an interview with Penelope for the most recent issue of Vogue Arabia, her pal Salma talked about how they almost died on a plane on Halloween.
Since Penelope was already afraid of flying, the two realized something was wrong when a crew member hurried out of the cockpit and put on an oxygen mask.
"You and I were in a hairy situation on a plane once… What did you learn from the emergency landing we experienced?" the 'Parallel Mothers' actress asked her friend, while Salma reminisced about their heartfelt exchanges.
"You've always had a fear of flying and you always give me instructions of what to do if you die in a crash!" she said. "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."
Salma recalled, "I knew it was going to happen because I saw the flight attendant coming out of the cockpit and grabbing oxygen," and she described how she tried to comfort Penelope.
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"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!" Salma exclaimed.
The 'Frida' actress even expressed her admiration for the lovely words that came next, saying, "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.'"
The friendship began when Salma, who had shared contacts, picked Penelope up at the airport and welcomed her to her house when the 'Parallel Mothers' actress moved to Hollywood to launch her English-language career.
Salma remarked, "And it's been more than 20 years of a solid friendship. We clicked instantaneously. It felt like we had known each other for a lifetime."
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Penelope Cruz previously addressed the near-death plane crash incident
Penelope, who recently celebrated her 50th birthday, earlier sought to downplay the incident by claiming that she was wearing a full clown costume at the time.
She told PEOPLE in 2017: "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."
"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 recalled, mentioning that several other passengers had also been dressed in character.
"It was really crazy, when I tell this story people think I'm making it up," she remarked at the time.