I agree that it has to do with control. Also, I feel that somehow it would be more frightening to die that way. As in the case of the last major crash, the Swiss airline I believe it was, there were several minutes when the passengers must have known it was the end. Can you imagine the fear and trauma they must have felt?
One book that describes it well is "Fearless." This was also made into a movie, but the book is much better. The story starts off with a plane crash, and then focuses on the relationships between the survivors.