A corporate pilot approaching the sav sheltair FBO ramp reported that; at night in rain; the transit...

Narrative:

Taxiway GA5 connects taxiway a and the sheltair parking ramp. It ends 200 ft after passing the sheltair ramp and is marked with a series of red reflectors. The last blue taxiway light on GA5 prior to turning into (right turn - north) the sheltair ramp is approximately 150 ft prior to the ramp entrance. There is no light source to the immediate left or right of the ramp entrance nor is there any painted taxi guidance line onto the ramp. On either side of the entrance is an eight foot ditch. On aircraft like mine without windshield rain removal; it is almost impossible to determine at night where the entrance ramp is and how close to the edge I am. I have asked sheltair to address this but nothing has been accomplished. I feel this is an accident waiting to happen especially to pilots that have not been on this taxiway/ramp before; I have difficulty on a rainy night and I am based here. My suggestion is to install two taxiway lights one on either side of the GA5/ramp intersection and also to paint a curved taxi line from GA5 into the ramp area.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A corporate pilot approaching the SAV Sheltair FBO ramp reported that; at night in rain; the transition from Taxiway GA5 to the Sheltair ramp is hazardous because there is no lead in line or taxiway lights and an eight foot deep drainage ditch is on either side.

Narrative: Taxiway GA5 connects Taxiway A and the Sheltair parking ramp. It ends 200 FT after passing the Sheltair ramp and is marked with a series of red reflectors. The last blue taxiway light on GA5 prior to turning into (right turn - north) the Sheltair ramp is approximately 150 FT prior to the ramp entrance. There is no light source to the immediate left or right of the ramp entrance nor is there any painted taxi guidance line onto the ramp. On either side of the entrance is an eight foot ditch. On aircraft like mine without windshield rain removal; it is almost impossible to determine at night where the entrance ramp is and how close to the edge I am. I have asked Sheltair to address this but nothing has been accomplished. I feel this is an accident waiting to happen especially to pilots that have not been on this taxiway/ramp before; I have difficulty on a rainy night and I am based here. My suggestion is to install two taxiway lights one on either side of the GA5/ramp intersection and also to paint a curved taxi line from GA5 into the ramp area.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	959048
Time
Date	201107
Place
Locale Reference	SAV.Airport
State Reference	GA
Environment
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Small Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Taxi
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 77 Flight Crew Total 11700 Flight Crew Type 97
Events
Anomaly	No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types

A corporate pilot approaching the sav sheltair FBO ramp reported that; at night in rain; the transition from taxiway GA5 to the sheltair ramp is hazardous because there is no lead in line or taxiway lights and an eight foot deep drainage ditch is on either side.