Prince's life-threatening medical emergency 6 days before he died comes through loud and clear in transmissions between his pilot and air traffic control.
The audio transmissions -- obtained by TMZ -- chronicle a pilot who had to get his plane on the ground STAT in Moline, Illinois to save his famous passenger. Prince's plane is identified as "990." At 48 seconds you hear the controller from Chicago Center say, "CFR [certified first responder] will be waiting."
The controller called for paramedics to greet the plane as soon as it landed.
As we reported, our sources say Prince almost died from an overdose of Percocet ... and the situation was so dire the CFR's administered a "save drug" right at the airport ... as soon as the plane landed.
It's interesting ... you hear the ATC ask if the patient was male or female, suggesting the pilot didn't disclose the identity of the stricken passenger.