Germanwings owner Lufthansa set for $300m costs over French Alps crash

Air giant Lufthansa faces a huge $300m bill for the French Alps plane crash in which 149 people were "killed" by pilot Andreas Lubitz.

Lufthansa, which owns low cost airline Germanwings, has pledged to cover "all costs" arising from the disaster last week.

Compensation for families of the 149 people who were apparently killed by co-pilot Lubitz could send the bill higher still, if investigators find Lufthansa liable in some way.

Airline chief Carston Spohr has said previously he thought no safety system in existence could have prevented Lubitz from deliberately crashing the Airbus A320 plane.

Compensation rules state relatives of the 149 victims could get bigger payouts if it can be established their loved ones knew the plane was about to crash.

After the crash, a pile of torn up sick notes signing Lubitz off work were found at his home. He also received treatment for suicidal tendencies, it has been revealed.

Details have emerged of comments by the 27-year-old before the crash, in which he spoke of going down in history for doing something which would change the aviation industry.

Lufthansa has claimed it had no knowledge of Lubitz's medical records, due to patient confidentiality.

Investigators searching the crash site in the French Alps have recovered around 500 human remains, but no bodies in tact.

A team of 50 forensic experts is relying on DNA strands to identify victims. French president Francois Hollande said: "The French interior minister confirmed that by the end of the week at the latest it will be possible to identify all of the victims."