I think airbags only deploy on a relatively narrow angle of impact, as the passenger and steering wheel ones are only for front impact, hence the proliferation of other air bags scattered around the side areas on more modern cars.

Mine was never really going to go off as I cork screwed it off down a field. Mind, as Paul noted the hood frame is good for kebabing. I'm sure that it was the frame that caught my ear...nothing a shot of surgical superglue couldn't fix )

To this day, I'm still annoyed that I ruined a really very nice car, that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Brian