Breathtaking
I don't normally comment on this type of thread BUT I cannot believe some of the pure drivel perpetrated by some such as WW, breathtakingly stupid.
I have never taxi-ed anything bigger (in command) than a 767 but I do feel desperately sorry for that 747 crew. Why ? Because I maintain that so long as human beings are involved in flight operations there will be a scattering of incidents, some more serious than others, despite the best possible training and the highest standards of diligence. These guys were human.
I got away with it for almost 40 years and I thank my lucky stars that the finger of fate was never pointed at me.
So perhaps its time to stop speculating on the cause, and criticising the crew on a basis of ignorance, and just wait until those, AAIB, whose professional task it is to objectively determine the cause of this incident and have all the facts, make their report and we hear their recommendations as to how a repeat can be prevented.