A321 captain reports landing gear would not retract after takeoff accompanied by an ECAM message for...

Narrative:

Normal pre-flight; taxi out and takeoff after lift off gear would not retract and we had ECAM messages: a/thrust inoperative followed by left/G shock absorber fault. ECAM procedures followed: QRH; no immediate actions; cleared ECAM for autothrottles; followed ECAM action for left/G..... Notified ATC of problem and requested vectors for a box pattern while we notified maintenance and dispatch. Dispatcher said maintenance wanted us to return. We flew for another 30 - 40 minutes burning down fuel to lessen the overweight landing to 182;000# (max land weight 171;000)/ 200 FPM at touch down. We had no auto thrust; no autopilot; and no flight directors. Crash fire rescue equipment was called out as a precaution landing and taxi to gate with no problems.apparently nose gear did not fully extend after lift off or the sensor did not read the position correctly. Aircraft thought it was still on ground thus no autothrottle; autopilot; flight director.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A321 Captain reports landing gear would not retract after takeoff accompanied by an ECAM message for L/G Shock Absorber Fault. Flight returned to departure for an over weight landing.

Narrative: Normal pre-flight; taxi out and takeoff after lift off gear would not retract and we had ECAM messages: A/Thrust inoperative followed by L/G shock absorber fault. ECAM procedures followed: QRH; no immediate actions; cleared ECAM for autothrottles; followed ECAM action for L/G..... Notified ATC of problem and requested vectors for a box pattern while we notified Maintenance and Dispatch. Dispatcher said Maintenance wanted us to return. We flew for another 30 - 40 minutes burning down fuel to lessen the overweight landing to 182;000# (max land weight 171;000)/ 200 FPM at touch down. We had no auto thrust; no autopilot; and no flight directors. CFR was called out as a precaution landing and taxi to gate with no problems.Apparently nose gear did not fully extend after lift off or the sensor did not read the position correctly. Aircraft thought it was still on ground thus no autothrottle; autopilot; flight director.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

Attributes
ACN	889531
Time
Date	201005
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A321
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Component
Aircraft Component	Nose Gear
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe

A321 captain reports landing gear would not retract after takeoff accompanied by an ECAM message for left/G shock absorber fault. Flight returned to departure for an over weight landing.