As a non-pilot, this intrigues me and I would like to know what pilots think about this situation -- it appears obvious from the discussion that one of two things is true, either
(a) the pilots did not receive the NOTAM concerning runways in use, or
(b) the pilots forgot the information from the briefing presumably four to six hours earlier.
Either way, is there no system in place to remind pilots of NOTAM information at a useful time such as 30 minutes before arrival?
If not, should there not be one? Just some sort of computer-generated message like reminder of NOTAM of closed runway at SFO, with the actual details in the message. This would avoid both possibilities above.