MD80 captain reported a loud bang from the nose gear as the aircraft lifted off the runway. Flight c...

Narrative:

Right at nose gear lift off; very loud; metal on metal 'bang' sound came from nose gear area. Sound heard throughout entire cabin. Delayed gear retraction to look for any secondary evidence of any kind of damage. None observed. Raised gear at about 2;000 ft AGL; gear retraction normal. No other abnormalities noted until approaching our destination; and as; the aircraft slowed through about 220 KTS with the slats out; a loud fluttering sound with a noticeable airframe vibration was felt throughout the entire aircraft. At about a ten mile final to the airport; captain decided to declare an emergency for possible nose gear/airframe damage and diverted to a nearby airport so as to have a longer runway. Accomplished all appropriate QRH checklists and landed uneventfully at the airport. Arff personnel inspected aircraft for any visible signs of damage. None observed. Taxied to ramp and parked.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MD80 Captain reported a loud bang from the nose gear as the aircraft lifted off the runway. Flight continued to destination where a loud fluttering noise was noted during approach with the gear up. Captain elected to divert to a nearby airport with a longer runway for an uneventful landing.

Narrative: Right at nose gear lift off; very loud; metal on metal 'bang' sound came from nose gear area. Sound heard throughout entire cabin. Delayed gear retraction to look for any secondary evidence of any kind of damage. None observed. Raised gear at about 2;000 FT AGL; gear retraction normal. No other abnormalities noted until approaching our destination; and as; the aircraft slowed through about 220 KTS with the slats out; a loud fluttering sound with a noticeable airframe vibration was felt throughout the entire aircraft. At about a ten mile final to the airport; Captain decided to declare an Emergency for possible nose gear/airframe damage and diverted to a nearby airport so as to have a longer runway. Accomplished all appropriate QRH checklists and landed uneventfully at the airport. ARFF personnel inspected aircraft for any visible signs of damage. None observed. Taxied to ramp and parked.

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	938596
Time
Date	201103
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	MD-80 Series (DC-9-80) Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Nose Gear
Person 1
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe

MD80 captain reported a loud bang from the nose gear as the aircraft lifted off the runway. Flight continued to destination where a loud fluttering noise was noted during approach with the gear up. Captain elected to divert to a nearby airport with a longer runway for an uneventful landing.