Narrative:

At rotation speed; approximately 100 KTS; the landing gear made abnormal noise and vibration. As it was retracting; it made the noise all the way into the wheel wells. At approximately 1;500 AGL; the weight on wheels caution light illuminated for several seconds; self-extinguished; then continued to do the same thing 2-3 more times. The weight on wheels checklist was called for and it stated that landing gear may not retract and that maintenance action was required.dispatch and maintenance control wanted us to return to ZZZ. Center was informed of our request to return and asked if we wanted to declare an emergency. I told them no; because the airplane was showing no signs of abnormal flight characteristics. I informed the flight attendant and the passengers of the situation and in talking to the flight attendant I was informed that the left main gear/truck was indeed making a loud/abnormal noise at rotation speed and during retraction. We landed without further incident; parked at the gate and I wrote up the issues we were having with the aircraft. A contract mechanic visually inspected the aircraft and said he could find nothing wrong and that it was probably just a tire that needed balancing and it should be fine. I told him that does not explain the weight on wheels light; and I would not accept the aircraft for flight with that kind of explanation.

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Dash-8 returned to its departure airport for maintenance when the WT ON WHEELS caution light illuminated shortly after a takeoff; following a noisy retraction.

Narrative: At rotation speed; approximately 100 KTS; the landing gear made abnormal noise and vibration. As it was retracting; it made the noise all the way into the wheel wells. At approximately 1;500 AGL; the WT ON WHEELS caution light illuminated for several seconds; self-extinguished; then continued to do the same thing 2-3 more times. The WT ON WHEELS checklist was called for and it stated that landing gear may not retract and that maintenance action was required.Dispatch and Maintenance Control wanted us to return to ZZZ. Center was informed of our request to return and asked if we wanted to declare an emergency. I told them no; because the airplane was showing no signs of abnormal flight characteristics. I informed the Flight Attendant and the passengers of the situation and in talking to the Flight Attendant I was informed that the left main gear/truck was indeed making a loud/abnormal noise at rotation speed and during retraction. We landed without further incident; parked at the gate and I wrote up the issues we were having with the aircraft. A Contract Mechanic visually inspected the aircraft and said he could find nothing wrong and that it was probably just a tire that needed balancing and it should be fine. I told him that does not explain the WT ON WHEELS light; and I would not accept the aircraft for flight with that kind of explanation.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.