Germanwings plane crash: 'Fake relative' claims free flights to French Alps

[webfact]

German police probe whether woman faked link to crash victim

BERLIN (AP) — German police said Thursday they are looking into whether a woman fraudulently claimed to be a relative of a victim of last month's Germanwings crash to get free flights to southern France.

Germanwings parent Lufthansa organized special flights for victims' relatives after the March 24 crash in the French Alps, which killed all 150 people on board.

The Halterner Zeitung newspaper, based in the town of Haltern, which lost 16 high school students and two teachers, reported that a woman from western Germany flew to the region twice at Lufthansa's expense after falsely claiming to be a cousin of one of the teachers.

Markus Tewes, a police spokesman in the town of Hoexter, said police are investigating possible fraud and the woman will be questioned after Lufthansa took the case to authorities.

The airline said it's looking into what appears to be a "regrettable isolated case," but didn't give details.

At the crash site itself, Germanwings and Lufthansa now have responsibility for organizing the removal of the wreckage and clearing up any environmental damage, Lufthansa spokesman Boris Ogursky said.

They will work with local authorities to draw up an environmental report and analyze soil samples to determine what needs to be done to repair damage, for example caused by aircraft fuel, he said.

Work at the site could take between six and 18 months to complete, Ogursky added. He had no comment on the potential costs.

Investigators believe the Airbus A320's co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, deliberately crashed the plane during a flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-04-10

[Somtamnication]

Pure scum!

[Carib]

Some really sick people on the planet...

[Brit_Doggie]

Scammers even with tragedies how low can these people go,bring back the death penalty and give em free flights to heaven.

[davo2212]

Some people must sit at home thinking of ways to scam, rip off or just get something for nothing. Get a job!

[trainman34014]

Scammers even with tragedies how low can these people go,bring back the death penalty and give em free flights to heaven.

Free flights to the fires of hell more like !

[Sooo Upto Me]

Sick people everywhere in this crazy world of ours.

Will do anything to get a freebie or make money from it.

[DoctorG]

I must have a devious mind because when I first heard that relatives were being flown there, I immediately thought "what is to stop someone just saying they are a relative?" I guess I got my answer - nothing.

[captainhornblower]

I must have a devious mind because when I first heard that relatives were being flown there, I immediately thought "what is to stop someone just saying they are a relative?" I guess I got my answer - nothing.

Except possibly a jail sentence...

[Pib]

Some people are just cold hearted....and they see little wrong (or nothing wrong) in what they do.

[Lupatria]

They should spray “Leichenfledderer” at the door of her home. The German word for vulture/body-stripper/person who robs dead people.

[manarak]

let's wait for details, if the person was a boyfriend/girlfriend or a very close friend it can be understandable.

[emilymat]

I must have a devious mind because when I first heard that relatives were being flown there, I immediately thought "what is to stop someone just saying they are a relative?" I guess I got my answer - nothing.

Except possibly a jail sentence...

...and the person being asked could not comprehend or imagine that someone would be so callous.

[cookee68]

These sort of people are in every country, they are just scum

[cookee68]

let's wait for details, if the person was a boyfriend/girlfriend or a very close friend it can be understandable.

If that was the case I think it would have been mentioned before this came to write

[manarak]

let's wait for details, if the person was a boyfriend/girlfriend or a very close friend it can be understandable.

If that was the case I think it would have been mentioned before this came to write

Yes, confirmed: the woman had nothing to do with the person she pretended to be a cousin of.

It's quite strange actually, because she didn't only visit the crash site, but also the commemorative site at Le Vernet AND used services from the psychological support unit.

Another nutcase?

[jerojero]

Always a scumbag willing to take advantage of a tragedy. Nail the assh**e!