Boeing can be prosecuted for two 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people approximately five years ago, the US Justice Department has said.

Boeing had breached obligations under a deal that had shielded it against legal proceedings for the crashes, the Justice Department said in a letter to a federal court in Texas.

Boeing said in a statement "we believe that we have honoured the terms of that agreement".

Prosecution agreement

The letter stated that Boeing breached its obligations under a deferred prosecution agreement (DFA) by "failing to design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics programme to prevent and detect violations of the US fraud laws throughout its operations."

Such a breach would mean Boeing can be prosecuted for any violation of federal law related to the crashes, according to US justice officials.

The US government has told Boeing to respond by 13 June.

US officials also plan to confer with families of people who died in the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashes.

"This is a positive first step, and for the families, a long time coming," said lawyer Paul Cassell, for the crash victim families.