The Gatwick landing on the taxyway (actually the relief taxyway alongside the regular one) actually happened twice, the BIA One-Eleven described above, and then later I believe it was an Air Malta 737.
In all these cases there are multiple closely parallel runway/taxyway combinations (three at Gatwick, four it seems at SFO), it happens at night, and heading for the runway on one side, they head for a taxyway further over on that side. Had the SFO runway lights over on 28L been switched off for any reason ? This was what had happened at Gatwick. If you know there are two parallel runways, you are landing on the right hand one, you see from several miles out just two parallel lines of lights, actually the right hand runway and its associated taxiway, you can start to see it.
If I recall SFO correctly, the two closely parallel runways are commonly both used together for simultaneous landings, and also takeoffs, in the "use everything together" style common in the USA but not so much elsewhere. So you might expect two lit runways.
I'm sure that an airport like SFO has superb lighting. In fact the general taxyway illumination is quite likely more brilliant than the runway lighting at some other points the crew encounter on the network, approach lights apart, where the runway is just passable and the taxyway pretty thin viewed from the air.
Last edited by WHBM; 11th Jul 2017 at 21:15.