PILOT RADIOS FOR HELP: 'WE'RE GOING TO NEED A STRETCHER'

Freak turbulence jolted SkyWest flight 5971, sending the jetliner plunging by almost a mile in under a minute on a hop from Colorado to Texas.

"We're going to need a stretcher, and there is bleeding as well," a pilot radioed air traffic controllers.

Two people wound up in a Texas hospital after the Aspen-to-Houston flight diverted to Austin, CNN reported. Paramedics checked all 39 passengers and four crewmembers at the airport on Thursday night.