Have pulled a spoke nipple through the rim going up a steep grade on the tandem. Spoke dragged derailleur into rear wheel destroying the replaceable hanger. So you don't need to crash to damage a hanger. Dub T damaged his through no fault of his (i.e not crashing) own as well.
I would also say that if pro teams were putting on steel hangers it is because they are stronger and less likely to bend in an incident forcing them to stop. They also don't care if the extra strong hanger subsequently destroys their frame.