Dive forward as airbag beginning to explode (5)
I believe the answer is:
lunge
'dive forward' is the definition.
'airbag beginning to explode' is the wordplay.
'airbag' becomes 'lung'.
'beginning to' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'explode' is 'e'.
'lung'+'e'='LUNGE'
'as' is the link.
(Other definitions for lunge that I've seen before include "Sudden push forward" , "sudden movement forwards" , "(Make a) forward thrust" , "Trust forward as with sword" , "Stab" .)