[boredhedgehog]

I believe that the causes for errors in perception and communication can be rather subtle, and therefore successful mitigations can be as well.

If the root error of the pilot here happened not at the runway crossing, but earlier, when confusing the K and J taxiways, then that's the location where possible preventative solutions should be considered.

Because once a pilot has subconsciously convinced herself that she's at another runway, it becomes increasingly impossible to override that mental block, no matter how many lights and sirens you use.

[rob74]

If you take a look at the airport diagram (https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aip_html...), it just takes one wrong turn to end up on taxiway J instead of taxiway K. And, also from that diagram, once the American plane took the wrong turn, the controller had very little time to see that and stop it before it crossed the runway.

But still, if pilots internalize via training that "if you are about to cross a line of red lights, you are entering an active runway without having permission to do so, so don't do it", that should be one more layer of safety to prevent situations like this. Of course, none of these layers are 100% foolproof, but taken together...