Flight Crew Last 90 Days 174; Flight Crew Type 11500
Situational Awareness; Confusion; Distraction
Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown
General None Reported / Taken
Airport; Environment - Non Weather Related; Human Factors
After landing in CRP on Runway 18; we proceeded to taxi to the Gate via taxiways A and L. Upon entering the ramp area we immediately noticed the extreme brightness of the ramp lighting. The brightness made it very difficult to see much other than the lights and the glare caused by them. We had a very tough time orienting ourselves on ramp because could not distinguish any markings such as taxi lines until we were almost directly over the lines. The distance we were able to see surface markings was a fraction of the typical distance needed. The Marshaller was tough to see and the lights made the parking process very difficult. I cannot overstate this: these were absolutely the brightest ramp lights I have ever seen. They were of a white halogen light of a very high lumen output. They were on multiple poles space at regular interval along the terminal and edge of the ramp. Each pole was at a relatively low height; only slightly taller than the two story terminal building. Every light pole had approximately four individual lights; with each light aimed at a different angle. The combination of the spacing and height; along with the varied angles of the individual lights made it nearly impossible to look outside and not look directly into at least one blinding light. If this light system is designed to assist the Pilots in navigating to the gate; it is an epic failure since it actually makes it extremely difficult to see anything other than the lights. I would have to rate this as the worst designed light system I have ever seen. In fact it would have been easier to see if there was no light system in place at all. A possible suggestion to correct this hazard would be to put the lights on higher poles so the light would shine down instead of directly at the oncoming traffic.
A Captain taxiing into the CRP air carrier terminal ramp on Taxiway L was blinded and disoriented by extremely high luminosity white lights. The Captain was unable to distinguish ramp markings and had difficulty following his Marshaller.