An A319 ECAM alerted left/G shock absorber; left/G doors not closed; and left/G not uplocked so the ...

Narrative:

Upon gear retraction; received a left/G shock absorber fault followed by left/G doors not closed and left/G not uplocked. I continued to fly the airplane while the captain worked the ECAM. We were given delay vectors while the captain tried to establish communications with dispatch and ATC. The captain was unable to establish communications on several voice frequencies that he was directed to use by dispatch. Being unable to communicate by voice. The captain was forced to use the ACARS unit alone for communication. This greatly impeded our ability to effectively handle the situation and added to the time it took to work the problem. We asked for a hold while we completed the checklist which directed us to 'land at nearest suitable airport.' we made the decision to return to the departure airport but were asked via ACARS to take the airplane to a nearby airport which we declined to do. After completing the checklists and coordinating with dispatch; maintenance; flilght attendants and the passengers; control of the airplane was handed off to the captain and we completed and ILS approach. Landing and taxi in were normal.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A319 ECAM alerted L/G SHOCK ABSORBER; L/G DOORS NOT CLOSED; and L/G NOT UPLOCKED so the crew complied with the ECAM and returned to the departure airport.

Narrative: Upon gear retraction; received a L/G Shock Absorber fault followed by L/G doors not closed and L/G not uplocked. I continued to fly the airplane while the Captain worked the ECAM. We were given delay vectors while the Captain tried to establish communications with Dispatch and ATC. The Captain was unable to establish communications on several voice frequencies that he was directed to use by Dispatch. Being unable to communicate by voice. The Captain was forced to use the ACARS unit alone for communication. This greatly impeded our ability to effectively handle the situation and added to the time it took to work the problem. We asked for a hold while we completed the checklist which directed us to 'land at nearest suitable airport.' We made the decision to return to the departure airport but were asked via ACARS to take the airplane to a nearby airport which we declined to do. After completing the checklists and coordinating with Dispatch; Maintenance; flilght attendants and the passengers; control of the airplane was handed off to the Captain and we completed and ILS approach. Landing and taxi in were normal.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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	1008150
Time
Date	201205
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.TRACON
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	Marginal
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A319
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Gear Extend/Retract Mechanism
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Flying
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 150 Flight Crew Total 15000 Flight Crew Type 1500
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

An A319 ECAM alerted left/G shock absorber; left/G doors not closed; and left/G not uplocked so the crew complied with the ECAM and returned to the departure airport.