Narrative:

It was a flight to relocate an aircraft from lex to 27K (10 mi). It was raining during the preflight. Not to my knowledge, line service had disconnected the nosewheel scissors for towing and failed to reconnect them. On preflight it looked to be in the normal position and on taxi it operated normally. I had no idea there was a nosewheel problem. However, after takeoff, when I attempted to retract the landing gear, the nosewheel would not retract -- that is when I knew there was a problem. I did a low pass to 27K so the mechanic could visually see what the problem was. He informed me that the nosewheel was off center to the left. At that point, I decided to return to lex where there are better facilities to handle the problem. I declared an emergency. On landing, I feathered both the propellers then attempted to keep the nosewheel off as long as possible. The aircraft came to a stop with no damage. I feel there are 2 factors that came into play on this. After talking to line service, I discovered that they had disconnected the nose gear for towing and not reconnected it or flagged that it was disconnected. I should have physically verified that it was in fact connected. A combination of issues are involved in this event. It was my responsibility to check this. However, line service should not have disconnected it without permission. I wanted to pass this on so it will not happen to someone else in the future.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: SMT PVT ACFT HAD NOSEWHEEL STEERING SCISSORS DISCONNECTED FOR TOWING, BUT THE GND PERSONNEL AS WELL AS RPTR PLT FAILED TO ENSURE THEY WERE RECONNECTED. AFTER TKOF THE NOSE GEAR WOULD NOT RETRACT.

Narrative: IT WAS A FLT TO RELOCATE AN ACFT FROM LEX TO 27K (10 MI). IT WAS RAINING DURING THE PREFLT. NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE, LINE SVC HAD DISCONNECTED THE NOSEWHEEL SCISSORS FOR TOWING AND FAILED TO RECONNECT THEM. ON PREFLT IT LOOKED TO BE IN THE NORMAL POS AND ON TAXI IT OPERATED NORMALLY. I HAD NO IDEA THERE WAS A NOSEWHEEL PROB. HOWEVER, AFTER TKOF, WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO RETRACT THE LNDG GEAR, THE NOSEWHEEL WOULD NOT RETRACT -- THAT IS WHEN I KNEW THERE WAS A PROB. I DID A LOW PASS TO 27K SO THE MECH COULD VISUALLY SEE WHAT THE PROB WAS. HE INFORMED ME THAT THE NOSEWHEEL WAS OFF CTR TO THE L. AT THAT POINT, I DECIDED TO RETURN TO LEX WHERE THERE ARE BETTER FACILITIES TO HANDLE THE PROB. I DECLARED AN EMER. ON LNDG, I FEATHERED BOTH THE PROPS THEN ATTEMPTED TO KEEP THE NOSEWHEEL OFF AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. THE ACFT CAME TO A STOP WITH NO DAMAGE. I FEEL THERE ARE 2 FACTORS THAT CAME INTO PLAY ON THIS. AFTER TALKING TO LINE SVC, I DISCOVERED THAT THEY HAD DISCONNECTED THE NOSE GEAR FOR TOWING AND NOT RECONNECTED IT OR FLAGGED THAT IT WAS DISCONNECTED. I SHOULD HAVE PHYSICALLY VERIFIED THAT IT WAS IN FACT CONNECTED. A COMBINATION OF ISSUES ARE INVOLVED IN THIS EVENT. IT WAS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO CHK THIS. HOWEVER, LINE SVC SHOULD NOT HAVE DISCONNECTED IT WITHOUT PERMISSION. I WANTED TO PASS THIS ON SO IT WILL NOT HAPPEN TO SOMEONE ELSE IN THE FUTURE.

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.