Is there a clear or particular pattern in the mistake-making that leads to a landing at the wrong airport?
I've been in the cockpit three times in which we realized we were maneuvering to land at the wrong airport in time to avoid so. All three times were at night; all three in VFR conditions, all three with the incorrect runway having the same directional orientation as the correct runway, all three with those runways being separated by just a few miles, and all three being the first time the pilot flying had been into the intended airport.

If I had to characterize the root cause, I would describe it as tunnel vision so to speak, being so focused on what was seen as being where the pilot(s) wanted to go that they failed to take into account that the conditions warranted looking around to ensure that that was where they really wanted to go.

The first and only time I personally almost made the mistake was in the early 1970s ferrying a Grumman American Traveler from the factory in Savannah home to Oregon. Close to midnight, we were under a low but legal ceiling over Mississippi flat land along a Victor airway westbound, navigating by a VOR just beyond our intended airport. The aircraft did not have DME. The airway passed a bit south of our intended airport. It also passed a bit south of another airport 30 or so nautical east of the intended. Both airports had runway lights, both were north-south runways. I contacted the intended airport tower, reported the (wrong) airport in sight, and was given clearance to land. On final I realized that the lights of the town were in the wrong place in relation to the airport, looked on the sectional along the airway, and realized my mistake.

The second time was in the 1980s. I was the captain of a SA-227 Metroliner with a brand new first officer the flying pilot. The intended airport was an uncontrolled field, weather was clear. I called the airport in sight and asked the f.o. if he had it. He replied that he did. We typically made a right-base entry for the runway off our en route course. At the appropriate time, configured to land, he started to turn toward the runway. However, instead of turning right, he started a left turn. I realized that when he had said he had the airport in sight he was looking at the runway ahead and to our left rather the the correct runway ahead and to our right.

Finally, in the late 1990s I was jumpseating on a UPS 757 (as I remember) into Miami. It was around 04:30 or so, still dark, clear weather, no traffic. Neither the captain or the f.o. had been into Miami (or at least so they said later). The captain called the airport in sight and Miami Approach cleared them for the visual. My first clue that something was wrong was when the captain then told the f.o., who was the flying pilot, that he needed to get down, get configured. I figured, correctly, that they had made the mistake many, many others had made. They has mistaken the Opa Locka airport for the Miami Airport. Both have multiple runways, both the same pattern. As politely as I could I asked them if they could see a small smudge of blue neon around 10 miles in front of the nose. They said they could, and I told them that was the Miami Sofitel which was completely outlined at the time in blue neon and was alongside the runway they would be using.

Experience is the teacher, which is why when going into Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah for the first time and at night but in clear weather, when asked if I had the airport in sight, I asked for the ILS.