Most crashes landing are due to mechanical malfunction which causes the pilot to have to land either in an unfamiliar area or without all of the planes functionalities. Recent events have shown that pilots seem to do very well on flat terrain and in the water in a crashes landing situation. Pilots are trained to maneuver a plane in emergency situations but they don't actually practice crash landings. Most accidents with planes happen during landing although that is not when most fatalities occur. Crashes landing can, of course, be fatal depending on the circumstances. In most cases while landing, however, the pilot is able to bring the plane to a safe stop. Crashes landing is probably the one thing passengers fear most. Hollywood can probably be thanked for that. Also, many people associate emergency landing as meaning the same thing as crashes landing, which isn't always true.