They tried to landed with as little damage as possible to the cargo and crew as possible. But most landing zones (LZ) were far from ideal. The one-way nature of the missions meant that military gliders were treated as being disposable. This is why they were made from common and inexpensive materials such as wood. They were unarmored, fragile, aircraft with crude steering and no brakes. This is why a large number of them crashed on landing. Troops landing by glider were referred to as airborne infantry. Pilots called themselves "tow targets" while the soldiers referred to the gliders as "flying coffins." Casualties for some missions ran as high as 40%. 