Abstract: An finite element (FE) model of airborne vehicle and its airbags was established and verified experimentally. The simulation results agree very well with the experimental results, which indicate that the established model is valid for further research. Airbags cushion system and the optimization of the design based on a complex nonlinear model is very difficult by traditional iterative approach method. Thus, equivalent response mode was employed to optimize the parameters of airbags. The optimization result shows that the maximal acceleration of airborne vehicle landing reduces 19.81%, while the energy absorption of airbags increases 7.85%. The performance of the airbags cushion system is largely improved through optimization.