Now On Board

By Cristine Antonette B. Catu

Captain Butch is not only a member of the Presidential flight crew for the current and the past two administrations but also a pilot of his own private life.

Before the year-ends, Captain Butch will be leaving for Toulouse, France on a grant from the European Commission to be qualified as a type-rating examiner for the A340/A330 aircrafts.

Very seldom does someone without a deep passion for airplanes, become a pilot. A lot of people think it would be neat to fly, but those who made it to the cockpit are extremely dedicated in getting there. There are many hurdles, obstacles, and patience-testing situations on the road to becoming a pilot that not many people know.

But for Captain Emmanuel “Butch” C. Generoso [GS ’74, HS ’78, Business Management ‘82], “it is not a glory to become a pilot but a mission”.


Pilot-in-Command

Captain Butch, as to what he insists his pilots address him, has an Airline Transport Pilot certificate and a Flight Instructor License. He’s currently the Chief Pilot for the Airbus A340 and A330 of Philippine Airlines responsible for the airworthiness of both the pilots and the aircraft.

His aviation career started at the Philippine Airlines Aviation School 86-A where he acquired both his Commercial and Airline Transport Pilots License. From an early age, it has been his dream of becoming a pilot, and so far since 1986, he has accumulated over 11,500 hours of flight time.

At 23, he started his career as a limited first officer for HS748. He became a Captain for the Fokker 50 after training in Schippol, Amsterdam then eventually appointed chief pilot for the F-50 division. He then trained in France for the A320 aircraft, assuming the Chief Pilot of the fleet. Afterwards, he moved on to the A330/A340 aircraft as the assistant chief pilot. In 2000, Airbus Industrie selected him to be the first Asian to join their Flight Instructor pool and he taught A320 / 330 pilots from several Asian carriers in the Airbus Industrie Training Centre in Beijing. When he returned from this mission, he eventually became OIC then chief pilot for the Airbus A340 / A330.

Captain Butch is happily married to Evelyn Balcos Generoso, the daughter of an airline pilot, Captain Emilio Balcos. Capt. Butch and Evelyn now have two children, Jose Iñigo, 22 and Mikaela, 15. It was actually his father-in-law who encouraged him to go for his dream to be a pilot and avail of a scholarship that was then offered by Philippine Airlines.


Taking Flight

Overseeing twelve wide-body aircrafts that cover all destinations (domestic, regional and international) of PAL, Captain Butch doesn’t only makes sure that the engines are running but also makes sure that the pilots and manpower are in their highest level of proficiency. For the chief pilot, handling 200 pilots means recognizing 200 diverse characters.

“Flight crews are always away from their families, thus, proficiency is not our only concern but also their own domestic problems. There are cases where we become ‘emotional wastebaskets’, a term from Fr. Mac Reyes.” Fr. Mac is one of the many Jesuits that formed Capt Butch during his Ateneo days.

For pilots, time away from home is already given. Depending on his flight roster and qualifications in the airline, a pilot could be away for a day, a night, or on the other side of the world for 10 days or more at any given time! Pilots often joke that they have been gone so much that they feel they have actually been married for only half the time since their wedding date. To some, they find the world as their playground.

His values are his benchmark. As a management pilot, Captain Butch sets a good example and don’t let himself fall into any trap.

“I use for my profession the values the Jesuits taught me”, he discloses. “When you go to work, they won’t ask where you studied nor would they see what you have accomplished... Instead, they will look at who you are. This is the only way they will trust you and keep you.”


Landing

Ideally, when the Philippine President is on-board, the pilot-in-command does the take-off and landing. Everytime Captain Butch takes a flight, nothing should go wrong that’s why he has to master the system and to work with all the controllers [including the travelling, crossing, and flying over].

With anxiety in the pit of his stomach, there’s always the pressure of arriving on time, especially during State Visits.

“You have to open the door at the exact designated time given to you, plus or minus 10 seconds. You cannot be early. You cannot be late,” he reveals.” You can just imagine how long it takes to plan a visit before it actually materializes so you must deliver...”


Blue Days

Having spent his elementary, high school, and college years as an Atenean, “Blue all the way”, is how the pilot-in-command describes himself. “As far as I can recall, sa Ateneo lang kami nag-apply for school.” Captain Butch led the roster of successful Ateneans in their family. Caesar Junior, a batch lower, is already an accountant in Chicago. Ernesto is a journalist while Paul, the youngest, works at Smart Telecommunications as Trade Marketing manager.

One highlight of his illustrious Blue life was when he became a part of the ADMU football team. As a varsity player, he competed in RIFA, NCAA, UAAP, and later joined the PCSO in the professional league. It was during those years in the Blue Eagles football squad where they wound up as Champions from 1976 to 1980.

The last four decades has seen a steady drum roll of learning from his classic teachers, who even became the mentors of his son. To name a few, they were the legendary Mr. Pagsi, Ms. Chee Kee Esperanza, Ms. Gigi Katigbak dela Cruz, Fr. Hollscher, and Fr. Mac Reyes.


The inside story of flight PR-812 onboard an A330

Perhaps one of the most dramatic events of any pilots’ career is a high-jacking incident. Capt. Butch is no stranger to one. He was in fact, the key figure in one such internally covered event.

On December 2000, a commotion on board the Mabuhay class section of the aircraft seized the attention of millions around the world.

Captain Butch was the check captain evaluating the crew from the jump seat of Philippine Airlines flight from Davao City in the southern Philippines. Descending through 10,000 feet to Manila, a high jacker with a gun and a hand-grenade took control of the Airbus A330.

The first signal that something was wrong occurred the lone high jacker pulled the pin out of a hand grenade, and poked a gun in Captain Butch’s face, and said, “We’re not landing!”

Stunned for just a few seconds, Captain Butch then had the presence of mind to take control. “We’re not your enemies, these people have families. They’re not involved, and you’re making them involved. Maybe I can help you,” says Captain Butch.

It was the Atenean communication approach that worked.

During those agonising minutes, the man said he had seen his father killed. He was so emotionally disturbed, wanted revenge and draw attention to the matter. Captain Butch was able to convince the high jacker that the passengers had nothing to do with his problems. He offered to give him money so he can jump out of the plane, and start life anew.

At great risk to him, Captain Butch had the opportunity to get out of the cockpit and to talk to the passengers on the PA from the forward flight attendant position. He explained to the passengers the situation and asked from them to donate whatever cash they could give. The first time the hat was passed, only a few bills were collected.

While Captain Butch appealing to the passengers on the PA to give more, the high jacker’s gun fired accidentally in the cockpit. The ear-piercing blast knocked the 300 passengers to panic and forced them to give further. All of a sudden, the bag was full of money.

Overwhelmed with the money people had given, he just wanted to bail out. The high jacker was proud of his homemade parachute but he was worried that it didn’t have a ripcord. “I told him I could help him make a ripcord but it didn’t [work] because maybe I’m not a Boy Scout,” he relates.

Subsequently when he found a nice spot where he wanted to be, they opened the rear door on the port side of the aircraft.

“The books don’t say I could open that door, and I wasn’t sure it would open, but he still had the grenade, so I said we could do it.”

The guy jumped, but because of the speed of the aircraft he got pinned in the doorway with his hand (the one holding the grenade) and one leg still inside the aircraft.
A flight steward grabbed his arm and leg and helped him off the aircraft.

When he got home, a horde of reporters and cameramen jostled for a sound bite. There he got his 5 minutes call to fame. The next few days were crazy for the survivors and a traumatic experience for his family, as some news outlets CNN, BBC and local news media took to calling him.

At last, though, life returned to normal. “Alangan namang twice in your career, ma-hijack ka,” he ribs.