B737 crew discovered damage on preflight walkaround.

Attributes
ACN	497278
Time
Date	200101
Day	Sat
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : bna.airport
State Reference	TN
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B737-700
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	ground : parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 220 flight time total : 9300 flight time type : 5500
ASRS Report	497278
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : multi engine pilot : instrument pilot : commercial
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 230 flight time total : 2200 flight time type : 510
ASRS Report	497277
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : detected after the fact
Consequence	other other
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Aircraft Environmental Factor
Primary Problem	Aircraft

Narrative:

My first officer and I flew aircraft X as flight a from mdw to stl and then to hou we flew it as flight B from hou to bna. My first officer did a walkaround preflight in mdw and noticed nothing unusual about the aircraft. Neither he nor I saw unusual ground activity at the gate in stl, hou, or bna, the first officer who preflted the aircraft in bna, where we were scheduled to sap into another aircraft, discovered damage on the underside of the right wing, about 8 ft inboard from the wingtip. He found a crease on the bottom of the leading edge slat and scrape marks behind it with visible honeycomb damage behind the scrape marks. This appears to have been done by a vehicle on the ground, possibly a provisioning truck. I opened the forward service door to show the oncoming captain the damage. The damage was not visible from that vantage point, only from the ground where the wing underside was visible. I called dispatch, maintenance control, and the chief pilot on duty to inform them of the aircraft damage.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 CREW DISCOVERED DAMAGE ON PREFLT WALKAROUND.

Narrative: MY FO AND I FLEW ACFT X AS FLT A FROM MDW TO STL AND THEN TO HOU WE FLEW IT AS FLT B FROM HOU TO BNA. MY FO DID A WALKAROUND PREFLT IN MDW AND NOTICED NOTHING UNUSUAL ABOUT THE ACFT. NEITHER HE NOR I SAW UNUSUAL GND ACTIVITY AT THE GATE IN STL, HOU, OR BNA, THE FO WHO PREFLTED THE ACFT IN BNA, WHERE WE WERE SCHEDULED TO SAP INTO ANOTHER ACFT, DISCOVERED DAMAGE ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE R WING, ABOUT 8 FT INBOARD FROM THE WINGTIP. HE FOUND A CREASE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE LEADING EDGE SLAT AND SCRAPE MARKS BEHIND IT WITH VISIBLE HONEYCOMB DAMAGE BEHIND THE SCRAPE MARKS. THIS APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN DONE BY A VEHICLE ON THE GND, POSSIBLY A PROVISIONING TRUCK. I OPENED THE FORWARD SVC DOOR TO SHOW THE ONCOMING CAPT THE DAMAGE. THE DAMAGE WAS NOT VISIBLE FROM THAT VANTAGE POINT, ONLY FROM THE GND WHERE THE WING UNDERSIDE WAS VISIBLE. I CALLED DISPATCH, MAINT CTL, AND THE CHIEF PLT ON DUTY TO INFORM THEM OF THE ACFT DAMAGE.

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.