The shooting down of the South Korean civilian airliner by the Soviet Union has made prominent the lacunae in the efficacy of international law to ensure the safety of transborder air transport. In this tragedy, on 1 September 1983, 269 civilian passengers and members of crew lost their lives, in a time of peace, by the violent action of a state which was not at war with any of the states of which the victims were nationals. Since this type of aggression has not occurred for the first time, and since widely available air travel has made people of the world ever more susceptible to these risks, it is paramount that all nations strive to ensure the modification of rules of international law, effectively preventing the recurrence of these horrendous mishaps.