Definition
A series of supplementary lights, typically white flashing or steady, arranged in a sequence on the ground to guide arriving aircraft from a point in the approach toward the runway threshold. Lead-in ramps (often called lead-in lighting systems) are used where the final approach path is offset, curved, or visually unclear due to terrain, obstacles, or surrounding lighting.
Plain English
A line of guide lights on the ground that visually shows pilots the path to follow into the runway when the approach is not a straightforward straight-in.
Context Anchor
Seen in runway overrun and engineered materials arresting system discussions, especially when looking at safety features beyond the end of a runway.
Derivation
‘Lead-in’ means guiding something into a destination, and ‘ramp’ here refers to a sloped or angled path of lights leading up to the runway — together describing a lighted path that leads the aircraft in toward the threshold.
Why Pilots Care
Maintains lateral alignment and reduces the chance of landing off centerline or on a displaced threshold.
Grounding Statement
Picture a short slope at the runway end leading into a crushable bed designed to slow an aircraft that cannot stop in time.
Intuition Check
Do not read ramp here as a parking or loading area for aircraft. In this context, a lead-in ramp is the sloped entry into a runway-end arresting system.
Example Sentence 1
The lead-in ramp lights helped the pilot follow the offset approach path to the runway threshold at night.
Example Sentence 2
When the runway environment came into view, the lead-in ramp confirmed the correct aiming point.