When describing reasons for structural damage in an airplane crash. I would first describe the overall speed vector (forward speed combined with downward speed) Then describe the pitch angle (steep versus flat). Then describe the impacting surface (hard vs soft) soft being mostly high water content.
Most of the transport category catastrophic crashes involve moderate forward speed moderate downward speed and moderate pitch into hard surfaces.
Some unique combinations have occured where water has been contacted in mostly flat trajectory and low forward speed. Such as breakup in the air and dropping pieces to the water (TWA800). While other events like Valujet in the swamp were steep impact at high speed into water.
If hard ground is contacted then numerous point contacts are made producing many tears and holes which coalesce into multiple pieces (typical of the majority).
If high foward speed is involved then the oblong fuselage gets splintered as the ribs split at junction points and many small pieces are formed. (makes little difference if it was water or hard since its mostly a point contact on the nose view.
If flat impact is involved with water, hydraulics occur across broad surfaces uniformly buckling the skin against mostly intact ribs until local fractures of the ribs finally give way and the skin is either missing in this area or partially sheared away by the water. It would not be uncommon to expect an oblong fuselage structure to still be smooth and round at the top while the bottom half has completely given way from the hydraulic loads and buckling.
The easiest part to read these kind of evidences would be the inlets to the engines themselves as they often tell the complete story of forward speed, downward speed, pitch and roll.