Pilot first. Doctor second.
Your aviation medical examiner sits in the cockpit, too.
Meet your montana AMEDr. Matthew Hartman
Senior Aviation Medical Examiner
For most pilots, flying is part of your identity: who you are, why you wake up so damn early. I’m the same way.
Growing up in a family of pilots, I was flying long before I went to medical school. My dad flew spray planes in eastern Montana, and I promised him I’d become an aviation medical examiner.
I officially became an AME in 2021. Three years later, we lost my dad in a flying accident.
This is why I take your medical so seriously. Not just because of that promise to my dad, which I think about every time a pilot walks through my door (especially one who knew him well). But also because I know firsthand how critical these exams are.
You don’t need a delay to ground you for weeks. You don’t need a deferral to ground you for months. You definitely don’t need a denial to ground you for life.
You need an AME in Bozeman or Billings who knows exactly how to help you prepare for — and pass — your exam as efficiently as possible.
And one who can swap some great flying stories while we’re at it.
Senior AME in Montana
I’m authorized to issue every class of FAA medical, including First Class. Since 2021, I’ve helped more than 700 pilots in Billings and Bozeman get (and stay) certified.
Pilot & aircraft owner
I was a pilot before I was a doctor. I own and fly my own airplane, and I go through the same medical exams you do. So I know what’s riding on yours.
Practicing physician
I still work as a hospitalist, so I stay current on the medications and conditions the FAA cares about. If I miss your call, I’m probably with a patient. I’ll call you back ASAP.
Family man
I come from a flying family, and many of the pilots I see knew my dad. My wife, Kristin, and I are raising our daughter on a property with its own hangar and runway.
When most AMEs are retired (or are about to)…
I’ll be around for the long haulSad, but true: the aviation medical industry is deteriorating. The number of AMEs is going down; the average age of AMEs is going up. Not a great equation for pilots looking for a trusted, long-term examiner.
As one of the few remaining AMEs in Montana — and one of the very few who is also an actively practicing hospital physician and a pilot himself — I’m out to buck that trend.
With me, you don’t just get a quick, quality exam; you also get decades of future continuity.
Book → call → exam → certificate
I make your medical as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4