Having the plane disintegrate around you is not always as bad as you would think
A factor built into some designs, from Boeings to the humble Victa eg Boeing main gear designed to tear away without breaching fuel tanks, shear pins on engine pods. The Victa was designed so that in a severe crash the occupants would be left sitting with nothing forward of the firewall, or anything aft, and the gear up through the wings. The more bits that fall off attenuates energy leaving less to inflict injury.