[1] ARINC officials, worried that the South Korean pilots might be sending a coded message for help, notified North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

[2][5] Worried that a possible hijacked plane might strike a target in Alaska, Governor Tony Knowles ordered the evacuation of large hotels and government buildings in Anchorage.

Lt. Gen. Norton Schwartz, who was in charge of the NORAD planes that scrambled to shadow Flight 085, told reporters in 2001 that he was prepared to order the South Korean airplane to be shot down before it could attack a target in Alaska.

I thought about it – you know that you will have to make decisions at times that will [be] upsetting you for the rest of your life.Ninety minutes after the South Korean pilots changed their transponder signal to the 7500 hijacked code, the plane landed safely in Whitehorse.

[6] On the tarmac, Flight 085 was met by armed Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, who, after interrogating the pilots, learned the whole ordeal was caused by a translation error.