(CNN) — Two passengers were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after a Houston-bound United Express flight operated by SkyWest met with severe turbulence and was forced to divert to Austin, Texas, officials said.

“We’re going to need a stretcher, and there is bleeding as well. SkyWest 5971,” a pilot said, according to air traffic control audio captured Thursday evening by LiveATC.net.

The flight was en route from Aspen, Colorado, with 39 passengers and four crew when the turbulence set in, the airline told CNN in a statement.

Some 90 minutes into its journey, the aircraft suddenly dropped about 4,000 feet in the span of a minute, flight data from FlightRadar 24 shows. It then altered course toward Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and began a rapid descent of mo

See Full Page