Narrative:

The night before the occurrence the aircraft had work performed on the brakes which required towing. The work was done and signed off. Then there was a maintenance crew change and the aircraft was towed back to the gate. The required logbook write-up noting installation of the nose gear pin was not made. The new tow crew did not check for a pin since there was no write-up. The installed pin had a nonstandard length streamer attached and was also covered with grease, making it appear black instead of red. In the early morning hour with an overcast sky the first officer missed seeing the pin on his walkaround. Subsequent takeoff a gear retraction revealed the nose gear still down and locked. Tried recycling the gear and then planned to return to ZZZ. Maintenance control suggested XXX for better maintenance. We started up that way until checking the WX and discovering it was below my high minimums (new captain). An overweight landing was approved back at ZZZ, but after discussing the current weight, I decided to hold to reduce the weight below maximum landing limit. This was done with the gear down and partial spoilers at V2F. The passenger were briefed several times as well as local station operations. An uneventful landing was made 2000 pounds below our maximum landing weight. At the gate the ground crew found the pin in the nose gear. Then we were briefed by the station manager as to the events that led up to this situation.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B757-200 IMMEDIATELY AFTER TKOF DECLARED AN EMER AND RETURNED TO THE FIELD DUE TO UNABLE TO RETRACT THE NOSE LNDG GEAR CAUSED BY LOCK PIN INSTALLED.

Narrative: THE NIGHT BEFORE THE OCCURRENCE THE ACFT HAD WORK PERFORMED ON THE BRAKES WHICH REQUIRED TOWING. THE WORK WAS DONE AND SIGNED OFF. THEN THERE WAS A MAINT CREW CHANGE AND THE ACFT WAS TOWED BACK TO THE GATE. THE REQUIRED LOGBOOK WRITE-UP NOTING INSTALLATION OF THE NOSE GEAR PIN WAS NOT MADE. THE NEW TOW CREW DID NOT CHK FOR A PIN SINCE THERE WAS NO WRITE-UP. THE INSTALLED PIN HAD A NONSTANDARD LENGTH STREAMER ATTACHED AND WAS ALSO COVERED WITH GREASE, MAKING IT APPEAR BLACK INSTEAD OF RED. IN THE EARLY MORNING HR WITH AN OVCST SKY THE FO MISSED SEEING THE PIN ON HIS WALKAROUND. SUBSEQUENT TKOF A GEAR RETRACTION REVEALED THE NOSE GEAR STILL DOWN AND LOCKED. TRIED RECYCLING THE GEAR AND THEN PLANNED TO RETURN TO ZZZ. MAINT CTL SUGGESTED XXX FOR BETTER MAINT. WE STARTED UP THAT WAY UNTIL CHKING THE WX AND DISCOVERING IT WAS BELOW MY HIGH MINIMUMS (NEW CAPT). AN OVERWT LNDG WAS APPROVED BACK AT ZZZ, BUT AFTER DISCUSSING THE CURRENT WT, I DECIDED TO HOLD TO REDUCE THE WT BELOW MAX LNDG LIMIT. THIS WAS DONE WITH THE GEAR DOWN AND PARTIAL SPOILERS AT V2F. THE PAX WERE BRIEFED SEVERAL TIMES AS WELL AS LCL STATION OPS. AN UNEVENTFUL LNDG WAS MADE 2000 LBS BELOW OUR MAX LNDG WT. AT THE GATE THE GND CREW FOUND THE PIN IN THE NOSE GEAR. THEN WE WERE BRIEFED BY THE STATION MGR AS TO THE EVENTS THAT LED UP TO THIS SIT.

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.