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Kupang and Badung, Bali. An Army helicopter carrying East Nusa Tenggara Governor Frans Lebu Raya was forced to make an emergency landing on Friday during bad weather, the second air incident in as many days involving a senior official.

The governor was en route to a traditional inauguration event in Noemuti subdistrict when the helicopter was forced to land in neighboring Benlutu subdistrict, South Central Timor, amid thick fog and heavy rains.

“We were all tense at the time. But we got over it once the pilot managed to land the helicopter safely,” Frans said, adding that the pilot’s actions had probably saved their lives.

The incident follows Thursday’s close call at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, in which Udayana Military Commander Maj. Gen. Rachmat Budianto suffered minor injuries after ejecting from an Air Force training jet moments before it crashed and burst into flames.

The pilot, Lt. Col. Ramot Sinaga, who also ejected to safety, is being treated for a head injury.

The accident occurred during aerial maneuvers involving four South Korean-made KT-1B training aircraft, each of which was carrying a pilot and a dignitary. Budianto’s ill-fated plane was initially meant to carry Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika, who was not able to make the flight.

Military investigators are probing the cause of the crash.

The investigation is focusing on the east end of the runway, where the plane crashed, and the fragments cleared away earlier.

The Air Force has resumed its flights of the single-turboprop planes, in spite of the accident, with four flying from Ngurah Rai to Yogyakarta on Friday.

“All four planes transited without incident in Surabaya, and arrived safely in Yogyakarta,” Ngurah Rai Airbase spokesman Capt. Renaldi said.

Meanwhile, legislators have criticized the Air Force for what they call a costly publicity stunt.

“The incident in Denpasar raises a worrying question about the Air Force,” said legislator Tubagus Hasanuddin, deputy chairman of House Commission I overseeing security affairs. “What on earth is the point of ferrying high-ranking officers and dignitaries around in a training aircraft?”

He said those who authorized the use of the KT-1Bs for the event, dubbed a “Joy Flight” by the Air Force, should be made to answer for possible breach of command.

“That aircraft was designed specifically as a training aircraft, not as an amusement ride,” the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) legislator said.

Golkar Party legislator Paskalis Kossay said the accident showed bad judgment by senior officers.