The Tokyo District Court ordered Korean Air to pay 130 million yen in damages July 16 to family members of four Japanese killed when a KAL jetliner was shot down by a Soviet fighter in 1983.

Presiding Judge Ko Ito said the airline was responsible for flying the 747 over Soviet territory, including important military installations. KAL flight 007 was shot down Sept. 1, 1983, over the Russian Far East island of Sakhalin after reportedly being warned that it had violated Soviet airspace.

The plaintiffs, consisting of seven relatives of the victims, had originally demanded 510 million yen in damages. It is the first time a Japanese court has ruled on the liability of an air carrier to passengers and consignors in cases of accident outside Japan.