In recent years, light sport aircraft, which not only serve the purpose of personal recreation but also act as a means of transportation for medium and short distance travel, have rapidly gained popularity in the general aviation industry worldwide. The FAA established regulations for this new category of airplanes in 2004. However, the crashworthiness requirements for this type of airplane have not been clearly specified. This study used the finite element method to investigate the effect of the impact angle and speed of the LSA fuselage structure on passenger safety during a crash event. We used sink speed defined by NASA AGATE, ASTM and FAR as parameters. The passenger compartment reducing rate defined by MIL-STD-1290A was used for a safety boundary condition. The results show that the maximum cockpit reducing rate of the airplane impact angle is 30o. When the impact angle increases, owing to the engine mount and fire wall’s reinforced structure, this type of airplane can sustain a greater vertical drop speed. When the impact angle is about 80°~90°, the maximum impact speed the fuselage that can be sustained is 33 m/s. This work also completed a simulation of safe and unsafe ranges for light sport aircraft at various impact angles and vertical drop speeds during impact.
