Date: 201202
Local time of day: 1201-1800
Location: ZZZ.Airport, US
Flight conditions: VMC
Aircraft: B757-200
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Final Approach
Airspace: Class B ZZZ
ATC / advisory: Tower ZZZ
Aircraft component: Nose Gear
Component problem: Malfunctioning
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: Pilot Flying; Captain
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Human factors: Training / Qualification; Confusion
Second reporter function: Pilot Not Flying; First Officer
Anomaly: Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Detector: Automation Aircraft Other Automation; Person Flight Crew; Person Observer
When detected: In-flight
Result: Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; Flight Crew Executed Go Around / Missed Approach; Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem; General Declared Emergency; General Maintenance Action
Contributing factors: Aircraft; Human Factors
Primary problem: Aircraft

Narrative: Upon normal gear extension; no nose gear plus gear disagree lights. Began go around; leaving gear down. Aircraft on ground reported nose gear doors open but no nose gear visible. Coordinated holding area with Tower; advised Local Maintenance and Dispatch. [We] advised flight attendants to prep cabin; advised passengers of situation. [We] declared emergency. Alternate gear extension successfully completed per QRH. Uneventful landing; towed to gate. QRH training inadequacies caused some delay in completing tasks in a timely manner.


Second narrative: We were at around 1;100 FT with gear handle down; in the midst of completing the landing checklist; when we got a nose gear disagree EICAS message. We had 2 green indications on the main gear and no indication on the nose gear. We leveled off at 1;100 FT and told Tower we were going to have to go around due to the nose gear indication. We were told to track the localizer straight ahead. Since we were over the runway at this time; we asked the Tower to look at our gear. This was not a planned low pass; we simply were right by the Tower and took advantage of the situation. Tower and other aircraft confirmed that our nose gear doors were open but the nose gear was not down. We continued straight ahead and climbed to 4;000 FT with Approach to troubleshoot the problem over the water; close the airport. We ran the QRH and lowered the nose gear with the alternate extension system; getting a green nose gear indication. We declared an emergency; notified Dispatch; and asked for fire equipment. We also quickly called Maintenance to get any last words. They recommended we get towed back to the chocks after landing. We landed uneventfully; however; I continue to believe the QRH has not been trained properly. This is my second major emergency using the QRH; and it is problematic because the format and philosophy are different from what we are used to. We need better training; not OJT during an emergency.


Synopsis: B757 has a nose gear disagree EICAS message during approach and goes around; the QRH is consulted and nose gear is extended using the Alternate Gear Extend Switch. The crew reported some confusion using the QRH procedure.