In the real world, any flight in which you survive was countable. Regardless of how and where the plane came down (and in how many pieces, SAPP I'm looking at you guys...).
This is a game. There is no penalty for losing. That said, there should (nay MUST) be a challenge for the rewards. There has to be a line drawn somewhere, and HTC point blank said he drew that line as "being on the runway".
Nothing stops you from reupping a fresh plane if you end on the grass, FYI.