He is no ordinary Airbus A320 pilot. This is Doctor and First Officer Erwin Conrad Abueva, both a licensed pilot and doctor at the same time. So suffice to say, he is a frontliner both in the air and in the ground.
Erwin is a first officer pilot of Pan Pacific Airlines and is rated to fly the Airbus A320 aircraft. He is also an emergency room doctor. Usually, he plays one role in a day, either a pilot or an ER doctor.
However last May 25, doc and pilot Erwin played both roles in one day, first, the role of a pilot then later in the evening, he was a doctor. He went viral once again after he shared how his day went last May 25, transitioning from a pilot during the day into a doctor at night. Moreso, he flew a repatriation flight, bringing home Filipinos from East Timor back to Manila.
In his latest post, Doc Erwin shared pictures how he started as early as 4:10am but in reality, his day started much earlier than that as preparing for a flight takes long. Erwin shared, “Our reporting time at Pan Pacific Airlines Office at Aseana 3 Bldg., Macapagal Blvd. was set at 5AM. So I get up at around 3:15AM and left our house in Paranaque at around 4:10AM.”
Flying a repatriation flight in the middle of a pandemic is not an easy thing. With the “new normal” in place, there are a lot of procedures, extra procedures that is! This include safety and health checks by government agencies like the Department of Health (DOH). This is to ensure the safety of the whole flight.
The flight crew are also briefed with regards to the details of the flight. We believe that this is Pan Pacific’s first time to fly to East Timor. The distance between Manila and Dili is around 2,598km using the Great Circle Distance, with a flying time of approximately 3 hours and 12 minutes for a typical Airbus A320.
FO Erwin was on the “right seat” of the cockpit for the Manila to Dili leg. “I was at the right seat, serving as First Officer to the Captain. (I flew one leg only Manila to Dili. There was another set of flight crew Dili to Manila. I was Deadhead going back to Manila),” he shared.
After arriving in Manila, Erwin had no more time to go home and rest. “I was not able to go back home after our arrival in the afternoon since I have to go to my duty in a hospital in Carmona, Cavite.” Hospital duty was at 7pm.
You can just imagine, carrying two important frontline jobs in one day. First was to fly an aircraft, then next was to attend to patients later on. How does he do it? Where does he get the energy?
“The energy comes natural: no special diet or supplement being taken. Maybe my dedication to both of my jobs matters in maintaining my strength to perform well both as a Doctor and a Pilot.”
First Officer Pilot and Doctor Erwin Conrad Abueva
While he dedicates himself to both fields on aviation and medicine, Erwin is more than excited for the restart of commercial airline flights. While Pan Pacific’s commercial flights remained suspended during the past months due to the the enhanced community quarantine, Erwin served a lot as a medical frontliner, or, as a doctor.
In a few days however, he will once again be back in the skies, piloting the Airbus A320. “Yes. I am more than excited to see the aviation industry back to its normal vibe and activity very soon,” Erwin shared.
Sana all nga!
