DC-10 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Training / Qualification; Troubleshooting; Workload
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; General Declared Emergency
Aircraft
On climb out; after raising the gear handle; got unsafe left main gear indication. I kept flying and asked First Officer for the QRH procedures. Kept aircraft speed at 230 KTS. After following QRH procedures; continued to have unsafe gear indication on Primary and Secondary indicators. [We] maintained altitude at 13;000 FT; ACARS to Maintenance Control and Dispatch. [We] got no reply from Maintenance. Dispatch did reply. [We] asked for fuel numbers to our destination at 260 KTS while coordinating with ATC; never got fuel figures from Dispatch. [We] decided to return to the departure airport. Informed Dispatch of intentions to return; declared an emergency; dumped 30;000 LBS of fuel; while on vectors back to achieve normal landing weight. ATC did a good job vectoring us back for an ILS 23L. Uneventful landing; roll out; and block in. The airplane had just come out of a C Check. On our arrival at the aircraft there were quite a number of switches out of position. Maintenance had to come out and through the ACARS panel reset four different fuel pumps that showed not operating. Maybe that is something that needs to be looked at.
[Narrative #2 contained no additional information.]
A MD-10 left main gear indicated unsafe after takeoff so the QRH procedure was completed with both primary and secondary unsafe indications. An emergency was declared; fuel was dumped; and the flight returned to the departure airport.