Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Flight Crew Private
Air Traffic Control Non Radar 1; Flight Crew Last 90 Days 12; Flight Crew Total 68; Flight Crew Type 26
Other / Unknown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification; General Evacuated
Aircraft; Human Factors
I was the pilot in command on a personal flight. I was flying a C172P rented from the FBO. The emergency was happened on the runway 23 after I trying to apply the break and slowing down. The nose landing gear was shimmy very bad; the whole aircraft is in strong vibration; then I saw sparks coming out from compass two times; and noticed burning smell. I contacted the Tower and said May Day; May Day; right after I saw the sparks; and request fireman truck. Finally I clear the runway 23 at B4; and stop the aircraft. After I make sure tower acknowledge this situation; I lean the mixture; stopped the engine; close the master switch and escape from the aircraft.
I received a call on the FBO landline from a non-instrument rated private pilot who had rented one of my FBO's aircraft. He had just landed after completing a round-robin cross country trip. The pilot was requesting FBO personnel to meet him at the end of the runway because he had 'declared Mayday' due to smoke in the cockpit.' Once I established that he was at our airport; I called the tower to get a more clear understanding of what had just happened.The tower controller was apparently on the crash phone with ARFF when I called. I did not know this and probably interrupted this activity. The controller advised he'd call us back when he had more information once Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting had completed their inspections.Once the controller called back; he advised they needed a tug to tow the aircraft back to the ramp. I proceeded to escort the tug with a golf cart and a handheld radio to communicate with the tower.Upon arriving at the aircraft there was no visible sign of fire damage. A firefighter stated they had no indications of a fire based on their evaluation with infrared heat sensing equipment.Upon returning to the FBO; I interviewed the pilot. He stated on landing there was an intense nose gear shimmy followed by sparks coming from somewhere inside the panel. The pilot's passenger in the right front seat recorded video of the occurrence. On this video; approximately halfway through the landing roll; two or three short bursts of sparks electrical arcing appeared to reflect along the left-side wind screen. There was no evidence of smoke on the video; but the pilot stated he could smell it. He declared 'mayday' while rolling out and exited onto a taxiway.I gave the pilot the link to the NASA ASRS website and asked him to fill out a report. I have not been able to follow up with our maintenance department on this occurrence.Factor affecting the quality of human performance:I would highly suggest the ARFF crews become more familiar with aviation radio communication. There were several unnecessary back-and-forths with the ground controller that could have been prevented with better radio training. This would have also enhanced the response time of the crews; which could have been a big factor had this been a real emergency.
C172 pilot experienced a strong nose wheel shimmy during landing followed by sparks coming out from the compass. The reporter stopped on a taxiway; shut down the engine and evacuated. Comments from an instructor employee of the FBO are also included.