AIRA - Aircraft Icing Research Alliance

Why AIRA?

Aircraft icing is the most critical natural hazard affecting the safe operation of aircraft in the northern hemisphere. While some aircraft are certified for flight into icing conditions (described as light, moderate or severe), and aircraft operate in icing conditions routinely, there are a number of outstanding challenges in the understanding of aircraft icing that need to be addressed.

These concern, for example, the following:

  • The atmospheric conditions leading to aircraft icing
  • The variability of natural icing conditions
  • Aircraft performance in icing conditions
  • Modeling of icing accretion and their aerodynamic effects
  • Icing forecasts

Like many other complex problems in science and technology, a multi-disciplinary approach is well suited to effectively addressing these problems.

North American and North European countries are continuing to invest in research to increase the safety of aircraft with respect to icing, with the shared common purpose of improving air transportation safety overall. In the United States and in Canada a number of Federal public agencies as well as universities have active programs in icing research with competencies in various aspects of the icing research problem.

The Aircraft Icing Research Alliance (AIRA) was created by Canadian and US partners with the purpose of increasing the degree of coordination in aircraft icing research, especially research collaborations among the AIRA signatories (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Transport Canada (TC), Environment Canada (EC) and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).

Specifically the mission of AIRA is:

To coordinate among the parties, the conduct of collaborative aircraft icing research activities that improve the safety of aircraft operations in icing conditions.

While AIRA was formed by Federal Agencies of the United States and Canada, the roles of the aerospace industry, academic community and other nations were not meant to be overlooked. These entities can be engaged in the process of setting research priorities and involvement in joint research through an AIRA standing subcommittee (See AIRA Structure).