Narrative:

First officer's leg into stl, he called for gear down. We got 2 green lights for the mains and a red in-transit light for the nose gear. We went around and held over a nearby airport. I reviewed the checklist and called the company maintenance base. The company did not seem to be interested in our problem and was no help at all. All they said was to 'do what you need to do.' so the first officer and I discussed what the best action would be. We decided to declare an emergency since we still did not have a green down and locked nose gear. We were pretty sure that it was locked, we could see it in the spinner, but we took all the safety precautions we could. We landed without any problems and had maintenance pull us to the gate. I let the first officer continue flying the aircraft, a BAE3100, while I talked to the company and ran checklists. I feel this was good since the final decision was up to me. I was hesitant to declare an emergency but it was very easy to do and this alerted everyone with what was going on. The human performance was excellent, I and the first officer did what we needed to do, we discussed our options and both remained calm. Also this was the first flight of the day for us following a 9 1/2 hour overnight, so we were fairly well rested. If this had happened at the end of a 14 hour duty day or after a stand-up overnight, the outcome would have been different due to fatigue. I never found out what the problem was but the nose gear held upon landing. Cold WX probably had something to do with it, it was plus 2 degree F outside. This same problem has since happened to 2 other crews that I know of, one on sunday and another incident today. In both these instances, they eventually got a nose gear green light after a few minutes. But maintenance still had to inspect the system. I also decided to land the aircraft even though it was the first officer's leg.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: NOSE GEAR IN-TRANSIT LIGHT STAYED ON WHEN GEAR WAS LOWERED DURING APCH. FLC ABORTED APCH. TRIED TO CORRECT THE PROB AND WAS UNABLE. THEIR COMPANY WAS OF NO HELP. LNDG WAS COMPLETED UNEVENTFULLY WITH NOSE GEAR HOLDING. COLD TEMP SUSPECTED.

Narrative: FO'S LEG INTO STL, HE CALLED FOR GEAR DOWN. WE GOT 2 GREEN LIGHTS FOR THE MAINS AND A RED IN-TRANSIT LIGHT FOR THE NOSE GEAR. WE WENT AROUND AND HELD OVER A NEARBY ARPT. I REVIEWED THE CHKLIST AND CALLED THE COMPANY MAINT BASE. THE COMPANY DID NOT SEEM TO BE INTERESTED IN OUR PROB AND WAS NO HELP AT ALL. ALL THEY SAID WAS TO 'DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO.' SO THE FO AND I DISCUSSED WHAT THE BEST ACTION WOULD BE. WE DECIDED TO DECLARE AN EMER SINCE WE STILL DID NOT HAVE A GREEN DOWN AND LOCKED NOSE GEAR. WE WERE PRETTY SURE THAT IT WAS LOCKED, WE COULD SEE IT IN THE SPINNER, BUT WE TOOK ALL THE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS WE COULD. WE LANDED WITHOUT ANY PROBS AND HAD MAINT PULL US TO THE GATE. I LET THE FO CONTINUE FLYING THE ACFT, A BAE3100, WHILE I TALKED TO THE COMPANY AND RAN CHKLISTS. I FEEL THIS WAS GOOD SINCE THE FINAL DECISION WAS UP TO ME. I WAS HESITANT TO DECLARE AN EMER BUT IT WAS VERY EASY TO DO AND THIS ALERTED EVERYONE WITH WHAT WAS GOING ON. THE HUMAN PERFORMANCE WAS EXCELLENT, I AND THE FO DID WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO, WE DISCUSSED OUR OPTIONS AND BOTH REMAINED CALM. ALSO THIS WAS THE FIRST FLT OF THE DAY FOR US FOLLOWING A 9 1/2 HR OVERNIGHT, SO WE WERE FAIRLY WELL RESTED. IF THIS HAD HAPPENED AT THE END OF A 14 HR DUTY DAY OR AFTER A STAND-UP OVERNIGHT, THE OUTCOME WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT DUE TO FATIGUE. I NEVER FOUND OUT WHAT THE PROB WAS BUT THE NOSE GEAR HELD UPON LNDG. COLD WX PROBABLY HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT, IT WAS PLUS 2 DEG F OUTSIDE. THIS SAME PROB HAS SINCE HAPPENED TO 2 OTHER CREWS THAT I KNOW OF, ONE ON SUNDAY AND ANOTHER INCIDENT TODAY. IN BOTH THESE INSTANCES, THEY EVENTUALLY GOT A NOSE GEAR GREEN LIGHT AFTER A FEW MINUTES. BUT MAINT STILL HAD TO INSPECT THE SYS. I ALSO DECIDED TO LAND THE ACFT EVEN THOUGH IT WAS THE FO'S LEG.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.