It's not immediately clear, but the fact that it is mentioned wrt BK18 and nothing is said either way for BK21 suggests to me that the pilot would have expected them to have been removed.
I also note in the convening authority remarks at 1.6.11 it refers to "two recent incidents with undercarriage pins" while discussing failure to follow process which would also point to a potential irregularity, although i have no knowledge of those incidents.