Researchers from North America and Europe have chosen freezing Montreal as the place to conduct a major study of aircraft icing this winter.

The $3-million Alliance Icing Research Study is designed to improve detection of deadly icing conditions at airports.

The National Research Council Institute for Aerospace Research, Environment Canada's Meteorological Service and NASA's Glenn Research Center are conducting the study from November 2003 to February 2004.

Researcher prepares a sensor

Aircraft icing can occur when airplanes face freezing precipitation either on the ground or in flight.

Canada's last major accident involving wing icing was the crash of a Foker f-28 at Dryden, Ont., in March 1989. A buildup of ice on the wings prevented the plane from lifting off and 24 people perished.

Researchers from Canada, the U.S., Britain and France are hoping sophisticated equipment will help them detect potential icing conditions before they happen.

Dryden crash

Five research planes loaded with sophisticated probes and monitoring systems will set out from Ottawa; Cleveland, Ohio; and Bangor, Maine.

The planes will converge in Montreal to collect storm data from different heights in the atmosphere.

Montreal was chosen because of its high frequency of freezing drizzle or rain and since it receives high air traffic.