Chesney Hawkes left his kids heartfelt voice note as plane plunged 20,000ft

Chesney Hawkes performs during the 2022 Rewind Festival: Scotland at Scone Palace on July 24, 2022. Credit: Lorne Thomson/GETTY

Chesney Hawkes and his wife left his kids a heartfelt voice memo as their airplane plunged 20,000ft in the air.

While aboard an Aegean Airlines Airbus A320 with his wife Krissy and 156 passengers flying from Greece to Barcelona (according to Aviation Source News), the flight declared a general emergency as it passed over Italy.

After oxygen masks dropped without warning, the airplane plunged 20,000ft sending items flying everywhere.

Speaking with The Sun, Hawkes shared: “We thought we were going down. Our ears hurt and babies were crying. The pilot came over the loudspeaker and said, ‘Emergency descent — brace’.”

He continued: “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.

“We left a voice message on the family WhatsApp 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,” he added. “The stewards were crying and everyone around us was hysterical. Then suddenly the plane stopped rattling and the descent slowed.”

The emergency descent struck after 40 minutes while the airplane was 37,000ft in the air. Afterwards, the aircraft was diverted to Naples International Airport.

Hawkes was on his way to Spain for a series of gigs after attending a wedding with his wife.

“The stewardess said we would be making an emergency landing,” shared Hawkes. “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.”

Upon the landing Hawkes said that there was a massive cheer and, after evacuating the aircraft, he made sure to snap a photo with the pilot who managed to get everyone to safety unharmed.

In the post, he called the pilot a “hero”, adding :”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.”

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