NEWTON LEFT TERRIFIED BY TURBULENT FLIGHT

Actress THANDIE NEWTON's crippling fear of flying has escalated after a hellish trip to Los Angeles this past week (ends09FEB07). The CRASH star admits she has never been more relieved to land after the plane she was flying to Los Angeles in flew into a patch of clear-air turbulence. The British beauty explains, "The diffrence between that and normal turbulence is... they (pilots) can't see it coming. "Normally you see it (turbulence) coming on the radars... and you can go round it. You end up in the middle in the worst turbulence possible with no preparation. "Everything went flying. I understood for the first time why you wear your seatbelt. There was a woman in the front that was wailing and crying. I was breathing into a paper bag... It was bad." Newton is now terrified about her flight back to London today (10FEB07), adding, "I'm hoping that the plane is just smooth... I have a feeling if we hit any turbulence I'll freak out."