Did You Forget to Pull the Left Main Pin on that F-18?

This would be the question asked by the groundcrew of a Spanish Air Force EF-18. Clearly it had a problem during it's first performance at the annual Open day of the Dutch Air Force at Leeuwarden Airbase. As any fighter pilot would do at an airshow, he took off with full afterburner and raised the landing gear as he cleared the ground. This time the left main did not retract. During a low level flyby, the groundcrew spilled coffee performed a visual inspection and determined that the nosegear and right main were down. He brought the aircraft in and had a safe landing. After an investigation, it was determined the groundcrew failed to remove the gear pin that locks the wheels down while the aircraft is parked on the ground. This pin, as you would imagine, did not allow the left main to retract once airborne.

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