A U.S. district judge late on Tuesday ruled that relatives of those killed in a 2019 Boeing 737 MAX Ethiopian Airlines crash may seek compensation for the pain and suffering felt before impact by the people killed.

Boeing in 2021 agreed to acknowledge liability for compensatory damages in lawsuits filed by families of the 157 people killed in the fatal 737 MAX crash.

"There is sufficient evidence to support a reasonable inference that these passengers experienced pre-impact fright and terror, and that experience is part of the 'process or manner of death,'" U.S. District Judge Jorge L. Alonso wrote in his ruling. Boeing did not immediately comment.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)