Background
An airport features four parallel concrete strips oriented east-west: from left to right, Runway 26L, Taxiway Charlie, Runway 26R, and Runway 25. Runway 26L and Taxiway Charlie share the same length. The airport had received approximately two inches of snow the previous night, and snow removal equipment had cleared Runway 26L, Runway 26R, and Taxiway Charlie. However, all runways and taxiways remained 60 to 75 percent covered with up to one-eighth of an inch of melting slush.
Incident Description
The flight was cleared to land on Runway 26R. During the approach, the crew observed what they believed to be three snow-plowed runways ahead: Runway 26L, Runway 26R, and Runway 25. They aligned with the middle strip and landed. In reality, the three strips they saw were Runway 26L, Taxiway Charlie, and Runway 26R. The crew had landed on Taxiway Charlie, which has a load-bearing weight capacity of 700,000 pounds.
Lighting Conditions
Runway lights, taxiway lights, and all other lighting associated with the runways and the approach, with the exception of Runway 26R's VASI lights, had been turned off. The crew stated that during final approach they believed they were lined up with Runway 26R and commented that the glare was "...real bad..."