Jelica Matic

Jelica Matic is a prominent FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) and multi-time Master Flight Instructor based at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. Originally from Serbia, where she performed her first solo in a glider at age 16, she moved to the United States in 1998 to complete her professional flight training. Over a career spanning decades, Matic has accumulated several thousand flight hours throughout Arizona, Hawaii, and the Pacific Northwest. She holds an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate for single and multi-engine aircraft, a Commercial single-engine sea rating, and is an FAA Gold Seal CFI, CFII, and MEI.

Matic’s safety-centric mindset is deeply informed by her experience surviving a serious aircraft accident in Hawaii in 2004. This event transformed her into a dedicated safety advocate and FAASTeam Representative, where she leads seminars on post-crash survival and critical incident response. As an examiner at Regal Air and other local flight schools, she is known for her meticulous attention to detail regarding logbook accuracy and her unique professional insistence on the term "certificate" over "license." Specializing in Private, Instrument, and Multi-Engine practical exams, she is highly respected for her commitment to ensuring new pilots meet the most rigorous standards of proficiency.