Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly is desperately trying to overcome her flying fears because it makes TransAtlantic trips with British husband Paul Bettany extra difficult.

The New York-based actress admits to having nightmares about taking trips abroad.

She reveals, "I'm a really horrible flyer. I'm not superstitious about anything; I'm pretty much a realist, but flying, I kiss the plane. I'm petrified. It could be classified a phobia.

"For the first 10 minutes of any airplane flight I'm sort of waiting for that sound that, for me - in my fantasy - it's like there's a nut that's come loose and it's going to go into the engine."

And Connelly's fears were compounded on a recent European trek when the plane she was flying back to America on was caught up in terrible turbulence.

She explains, "On this trip, it all goes south - there's kids covered in ice-cream, screaming, it's all madness... We get on the plane and (there's) the most horrendous turbulence. Shocking. So bad that the flight attendants lurched to their seats

"I immediately, on the first loud crash, I go, `What is going on here..?' I'm a nut... Tears start coming down."

02/07/2005 01:40