POP favourite Chesney Hawkes feared the worst when his flight plunged 20,000ft before being forced to make an emergency landing.
The One and Only singer and wife Krissy were flying from Greece to Barcelona when oxygen masks dropped without warning and passengers screamed in terror.
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The Aegean Airlines Airbus A320 then descended rapidly, sending items flying around the cabin.
Chesney said: “We thought we were going down. Our ears hurt and babies were crying. The pilot came over the loudspeaker and said, ‘Emergency descent — brace’.
“One of the stewardesses was in a foetal position on the floor trying to get a mask on while also trying to talk to us over the intercom.
“The plane was rattling and banked so steeply we looked out and could see the sea. We thought we were going into the water. Krissy and I looked at each other and hugged.”
Dad-of-three Chesney, 51, went on: “We left a voice message on the family Whats-App group. We were both crying and told the kids how proud we were of them and how much we loved them.
“There was no other information. The stewards were crying and everyone around us was hysterical. Then suddenly the plane stopped rattling and the descent slowed.”
Flight A3560 took off from Thessaloniki with 156 passengers and six crew at 12.30pm on Monday.
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Terror struck after 40 minutes at 37,000ft.
The flight was diverted to Naples, Italy.
Chesney, who had Spanish gigs lined up after attending a wedding with Krissy, 48, said: “The stewardess said we would be making an emergency landing.
“Everyone was terrified again. People had their arms and legs braced against the seat in front of them. In the end the landing was OK, if a bit bumpy.”
The West Ham fan added: “There was a massive cheer — I cheered louder than when the Hammers won the Europa Conference.”
No one was seriously hurt and Chesney, England’s unofficial lucky mascot at last year’s Qatar World Cup, tweeted a snap with the pilot, whom he dubbed Captain Fantastic.
The singer added: “He was a hero. All the crew were great, even the stewardess who had a moment.
“And thankfully we managed to delete the WhatsApp message when we landed before any of them listened to it.”
Chesney, who yesterday celebrated his 26th wedding anniversary, said: “We had some champagne in Naples airport — and we needed it.”
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