Super 80 unable to retract nose gear on departure procedure. Emergency declared with a return land.

Attributes
ACN	349327
Time
Date	199610
Day	Fri
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : ord
State Reference	IL
Altitude	agl bound lower : 0 agl bound upper : 1000
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tower : ord
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	MD-80 Super 80
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Navigation In Use	Other
Flight Phase	climbout : takeoff other other
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : commercial pilot : instrument
ASRS Report	349327
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
Events
Anomaly	aircraft equipment problem : less severe other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	flight crew : declared emergency other
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Aircraft
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation other

Narrative:

Unable to retract nose gear on takeoff. Ran abnormal procedure per operations manual. All indications of failure of ground shift mechanism -- no pressurization, no transponder, etc. Declared emergency. Return to base uneventful. Note: on previous flight, same aircraft, same crew, aircraft was in 'flight mode' at the gate. Nose strut extension excessive, all indications of failure of ground shift mechanism. Condition corrected as weight of aircraft shifting during passenger loading. Uneventful takeoff and landing. Suspect nose strut ground shift anomaly. Maintenance supervisor debriefed at gate.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: SUPER 80 UNABLE TO RETRACT NOSE GEAR ON DEP PROC. EMER DECLARED WITH A RETURN LAND.

Narrative: UNABLE TO RETRACT NOSE GEAR ON TKOF. RAN ABNORMAL PROC PER OPS MANUAL. ALL INDICATIONS OF FAILURE OF GND SHIFT MECHANISM -- NO PRESSURIZATION, NO XPONDER, ETC. DECLARED EMER. RETURN TO BASE UNEVENTFUL. NOTE: ON PREVIOUS FLT, SAME ACFT, SAME CREW, ACFT WAS IN 'FLT MODE' AT THE GATE. NOSE STRUT EXTENSION EXCESSIVE, ALL INDICATIONS OF FAILURE OF GND SHIFT MECHANISM. CONDITION CORRECTED AS WT OF ACFT SHIFTING DURING PAX LOADING. UNEVENTFUL TKOF AND LNDG. SUSPECT NOSE STRUT GND SHIFT ANOMALY. MAINT SUPVR DEBRIEFED AT GATE.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.