Narrative:

At rotation we heard a loud bang and then a vibration began. As we accelerated the vibration increased. I continued with the profile and began to accelerate at 3000 feet. As the AC (aircraft) accelerated we discussed limiting our speed to 250 and 10;000 feet. We discussed returning to the field. We decided to return and I transferred AC control and radios to [my first officer (first officer)]. I contacted dispatch. I informed him of the situation and decided that I would like [ground personnel] to evaluate the AC on landing for any damage that might hinder our taxi in and that I needed overweight landing data. The dispatcher asked if I wanted to burn fuel and I stated we would have to hold over two hours to burn fuel to be at max landing weight. My concern was that whatever was causing the vibration might increase damage to the AC and create a less safe situation. I contacted the flight attendants and asked if they heard or felt the vibration. They said that had. I gave them [a briefing] and asked that they make a PA to inform the passengers that we were returning. [The first officer] and I prepared for the approach. Completed the descent checklist and decided to configure early in case there was some sort of gear or configuration issue. We had a moment so I made a PA informing the passengers of our situation and that we were making a normal landing. We advised the tower on check in that we wanted to stop on the runway to be evaluated by [ground personnel] for damage and potentially hot brakes. I was PF (pilot flying) and made a normal landing. Stopped straight ahead; did not set the brakes and [ground personnel] evaluated our AC. We advised tower our desire to taxi to a gate but that we didn't have one yet. They held us short of [the runway] and advised us that company wanted to taxi to [a specific] gate. We parked; completed the parking check and maintenance showed us that the actuation rod for the left nose gear door had sheared. [Chief pilot] met us at the AC and evaluated or ability to continue. The [first officer] and I discussed it and decided we were able to continue.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737NG flight crew reported returning to departure airport after experiencing vibration from the nose gear door.

Narrative: At rotation we heard a loud bang and then a vibration began. As we accelerated the vibration increased. I continued with the profile and began to accelerate at 3000 feet. As the AC (aircraft) accelerated we discussed limiting our speed to 250 and 10;000 feet. We discussed returning to the field. We decided to return and I transferred AC control and radios to [my FO (First Officer)]. I contacted Dispatch. I informed him of the situation and decided that I would like [ground personnel] to evaluate the AC on landing for any damage that might hinder our taxi in and that I needed overweight landing data. The Dispatcher asked if I wanted to burn fuel and I stated we would have to hold over two hours to burn fuel to be at max landing weight. My concern was that whatever was causing the vibration might increase damage to the AC and create a less safe situation. I contacted the flight attendants and asked if they heard or felt the vibration. They said that had. I gave them [a briefing] and asked that they make a PA to inform the passengers that we were returning. [The FO] and I prepared for the approach. Completed the Descent Checklist and decided to configure early in case there was some sort of gear or configuration issue. We had a moment so I made a PA informing the passengers of our situation and that we were making a normal landing. We advised the tower on check in that we wanted to stop on the runway to be evaluated by [ground personnel] for damage and potentially hot brakes. I was PF (Pilot Flying) and made a normal landing. Stopped straight ahead; did not set the brakes and [ground personnel] evaluated our AC. We advised Tower our desire to taxi to a gate but that we didn't have one yet. They held us short of [the runway] and advised us that Company wanted to taxi to [a specific] gate. We parked; completed the Parking Check and Maintenance showed us that the actuation rod for the left nose gear door had sheared. [Chief Pilot] met us at the AC and evaluated or ability to continue. The [FO] and I discussed it and decided we were able to continue.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.