Narrative:

After deicing at the gate in ord; we taxied out to runway 28 ord. After takeoff and positive rate; the first officer retracted the gear. The main gear retracted and extinguished the 'gear unsafe' lights; however; first officer informed me that the nose gear red unsafe light remained illuminated. I asked first officer to put the gear down as I continued the climb to 5000 ft and accomplishing the turn given by tower. After first officer returned the gear handle down; I believe we lost the air logic because we started receiving flap warnings; even though the flaps were still extended to 8 degrees; the gear handle lock extended; and the cabin depressurized. We informed tower that we had a problem and that we would need 5000 ft and vectors until we decided what to do. First officer started the red gear light with gear handle up procedure. Ultimately; the procedure led to pulling the ground relay circuit breakers. That silenced the flap warnings. We decided to come back and make an overweight landing. I decided not to declare an emergency due to the fact we had 3 green gear lights; normal hydraulic; normal flight controls and we weren't in a hurry. The landing and approach proceeded normally. Touchdown occurred with almost 0 descent rate. Manual ground spoilers and manual brakes were used for normal deceleration. We cleared the runway and taxied to the gate. Landing weight was 135600 pounds.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: AN MD80'S NOSE GEAR WOULD NOT RETRACT AFTER TKOF. NORMAL DOWN INDICATIONS FOLLOWING LOWERING THE GEAR. THE ACFT RETURNED TO LAND. NO EMER WAS DECLARED.

Narrative: AFTER DEICING AT THE GATE IN ORD; WE TAXIED OUT TO RWY 28 ORD. AFTER TKOF AND POSITIVE RATE; THE FO RETRACTED THE GEAR. THE MAIN GEAR RETRACTED AND EXTINGUISHED THE 'GEAR UNSAFE' LIGHTS; HOWEVER; FO INFORMED ME THAT THE NOSE GEAR RED UNSAFE LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED. I ASKED FO TO PUT THE GEAR DOWN AS I CONTINUED THE CLB TO 5000 FT AND ACCOMPLISHING THE TURN GIVEN BY TWR. AFTER FO RETURNED THE GEAR HANDLE DOWN; I BELIEVE WE LOST THE AIR LOGIC BECAUSE WE STARTED RECEIVING FLAP WARNINGS; EVEN THOUGH THE FLAPS WERE STILL EXTENDED TO 8 DEGS; THE GEAR HANDLE LOCK EXTENDED; AND THE CABIN DEPRESSURIZED. WE INFORMED TWR THAT WE HAD A PROB AND THAT WE WOULD NEED 5000 FT AND VECTORS UNTIL WE DECIDED WHAT TO DO. FO STARTED THE RED GEAR LIGHT WITH GEAR HANDLE UP PROC. ULTIMATELY; THE PROC LED TO PULLING THE GND RELAY CIRCUIT BREAKERS. THAT SILENCED THE FLAP WARNINGS. WE DECIDED TO COME BACK AND MAKE AN OVERWT LNDG. I DECIDED NOT TO DECLARE AN EMER DUE TO THE FACT WE HAD 3 GREEN GEAR LIGHTS; NORMAL HYD; NORMAL FLT CTLS AND WE WEREN'T IN A HURRY. THE LNDG AND APCH PROCEEDED NORMALLY. TOUCHDOWN OCCURRED WITH ALMOST 0 DSCNT RATE. MANUAL GND SPOILERS AND MANUAL BRAKES WERE USED FOR NORMAL DECELERATION. WE CLRED THE RWY AND TAXIED TO THE GATE. LNDG WT WAS 135600 LBS.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of May 2009 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.