Indeed.. it's not the fall, it's the landing. My 920 has been lucky. I've dropped it maybe 5-6 times, always came out of it pristine. I know people who have dropped their phones from much less to a softer floor and crack it immeditely. It really depends on the Lumia too, 920 for example has been tested and found one of the most robust "normal smartphones" (excluding phones with cases or otherwise marketed as extra durable), but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't crack on the first drop. Amount of drops or how old the phone is makes no difference, if it lands bad once, game over. If it lands less bad, it can survive all the drops. But yeah, it must be a terrible feeling to have a new phone drop once and immediately have it shatter..
When I bought my 920, as I was first unboxing it, the box was upside down.. before I laid my hands on it, I had already droppe my 920 on a wooden floor from waist high or so. Luckily nothing happened to it.