Over the years of gathering statistics on airline crashes, a few facts have come to light. One of them is that the most common of aircraft crashes is a plane crash landing. Why most crashes occur on landing is unclear but there are definitely numbers to back up that statistic. Plane crash landings can be on terrain or on water, which is called ditching. Although there was a decline in the number of fatalities from aircraft crashes, that has now changed. Plane crash landings being most prominent, the fatality count for 2009 is 500. An outcome of a plane crash landing can never be determined in advance. Many things must be taken into account in that situation. Pilot experience and the amount of control he or she has over the plane has a lot to do with how things may end up. Obviously, many plane crash landings are deadly because the pilot has lost all control over the plane.