LISA airplane crash test facility. Test airplane being crashed on soil by the Large Impact Machine at LISA (Laboratory for Impact tests on Aerospace Structures), part of CIRA, the Italian aerospace research centre in Padua, Italy. LISA is one of the largest crash test facilities in the world. An airplane or helicopter weighing up to 20 tons can be accelerated on an impact trajectory at a speed of up to 20 metres per second, at angles from 5 to 90 degrees. One of three types of impact surface can be chosen: soft soil, concrete, or water. The data from the test crashes are used to improve aircraft designs, and help plan emergency landings on land or water. CIRA was founded in 1984.