Extremely grateful. Friends alums Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston were headed to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on Friday, February 15, when their private plane was forced to make an emergency landing after losing a wheel during takeoff. While the former costars eventually got to their destination unharmed, Cox said the experience was terrifying.
“I’m not afraid of flying at all — my dad was a pilot — but I was really scared because when we were taking off, we heard this really loud bang,” the Cougar Town alum, 54, told Extra on Wednesday, February 20. “I was like, ‘Oh, that sounds like we should probably check that tire.’”
Cox continued: “There was no tire at all; there was [sic] no wheel. Luckily, there are two wheels on each side and two in the front.”
The Mothers and Daughters actress explained that the aircraft was “in the air for four hours, burning off fuel.” Cox was worried about the landing, but said it ended up being “really smooth.”
As for what she did when she realized something was wrong? Cox noted: “I sent a little text to [14-year-old daughter] Coco, [saying], ‘I love you.’ I didn’t say why. And to [boyfriend] Johnny [McDaid] … I told him everything that was going on and I FaceTimed him after.”
A source told Us Weekly that Aniston and Cox were joined by Jimmy Kimmel’s wife, Molly Kimmel, film producer Kristin Hahn and Amanda Anka, who is married to Jason Bateman, when the incident occurred. The passengers were headed to Mexico to celebrate the Office Christmas Party star’s 50th birthday.
Days prior to the malfunction, Aniston held a star-studded event at Sunset Tower in West Hollywood. Celebrities including ex-husband Brad Pitt, ex-boyfriend John Mayer, Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney, Kate Hudson, Katy Perry and Gwyneth Paltrow attended the celebration.
“Jen spoke to Brad briefly,” an eyewitness told Us at the time. “At one point she hugged him and thanked him for coming.” A second insider also revealed that the Mother’s Day actress and Mayer, 41, who split in 2009, “are friends and have hung out.”
