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Lufthansa sets up $300 million fund for crash costs

Hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation could be paid.

By Ed Adamczyk
Handout pictures dated 26 March 2015 shows rescue workers at the site where the A320 Lufthansa passenger aircraft crashed in a mountain range of the French Alps. The plane heading to Dusseldorf from Barcelona with 150 people onboard was allegedly taken down by its co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, there were no survivors. Photo by Fabrice Balsamo/MI DICOM/UPI
Handout pictures dated 26 March 2015 shows rescue workers at the site where the A320 Lufthansa passenger aircraft crashed in a mountain range of the French Alps. The plane heading to Dusseldorf from Barcelona with 150 people onboard was allegedly taken down by its co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, there were no survivors. Photo by Fabrice Balsamo/MI DICOM/UPI | License Photo

COLOGNE, Germany, March 31 (UPI) -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the parent company of Germanwings, has set aside $300 million to cover possible costs rising from last week's plane crash.

The fund is for a passenger liability policy and insurance from physical damage to the aircraft, a spokesman said. It is separate from the $54,250 per passenger available for short-term expenses to relatives of passengers, or from the compensation of up to $157,000 per passenger, although higher compensation is available if an airline can be held liable for an accident. Costs could be higher still if the airline is found criminally liable for the crash.

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Insurers will determine compensation for victims' survivors, and the cost will depend on victims' nationalities, among other factors. The value of the destroyed aircraft is estimated by insurer A.M. Best at $6.5 million.

Andreas Lubitz, 27, co-pilot of the Germanwings plane which crashed in the French Alps last week, is suspected of deliberately flying the plane into a mountain. The incident killed all 150 aboard the plane, and Monday it was revealed Lubitz received treatment for suicidal tendencies before receiving his license to fly.

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The investigation thus has not shown any motive on Lubitz's part thus far, officials in Dusseldorf, where the plane was to land after traveling from Barcelona, Spain, said.

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