I flew on a SW 737-500 into San Antonio the other day and noticed something that made me a little nervous. I was seated about 4 rows behind the wing and I noticed a 3/8" to 1/2" gap in the sheet metal where the engine pylon transitions into the wing surface. The bulge appeared to span an area where two or three rivets where popped. The condition didn't worsen while in flight but after the reverse thrusters were engaged at touchdown the gap closed and all looked normal. Any opinions?

I would have been nervous too. Did you report what you saw?

I mentioned it to the FO as I got off the plane. He said he would check it out but I told him the gap closed up and there was nothing to see. Then he told he would see if he could lift up the sheetmetal by hand. At that point I felt like he was patronizing me since it took the thrust of a jet engine reversing to close it up. He did get on a ladder and look around but 15 minutes later the plane was on it's way again. I might as well have told him there was a hairy looking creature on the wing pulling up on the sheet metal!

>I mentioned it to the FO as I got off the plane. He said he>would check it out but I told him the gap closed up and there>was nothing to see. Then he told he would see if he could lift>up the sheetmetal by hand. At that point I felt like he was>patronizing me since it took the thrust of a jet engine>reversing to close it up. He did get on a ladder and look>around but 15 minutes later the plane was on it's way again. >>I might as well have told him there was a hairy looking>creature on the wing pulling up on the sheet metal! Hey Dean. Wish you could have taken a photo. I then maybe could have shed some light on things.Just curious though; what else could that FO have done in this situation? San Antonio is not a MX base for us; so alot of times we check into things ourselves first before calling contract MX. Apparently, as you stated; from the investigation nothing was found to affect safety of flight. I can assure you, when Pax come to us with observations; we will always check into them. So, I don't think the FO was patronizing you at all. He did get on a ladder and investigate, did he not? Most likely, the crew had our MX guys recheck it when they reached a MX base. Also, most likely they continued checking the area in question prior to reaching a MX base. Not necessarily on a ladder, but a look see from the cabin windows.I'm just trying to visualize that area on the 500; sorry, I can't seem to come up with anything to expalin what you saw. But, I can say; we always take pax. reports seriously...so keep em coming.:-)If there is a way you feel things could have been done differently; to were you felt you weren't being patronized; but taken seriously..could you please let me know your thoughts. As a captain, I'm always interested in ways to improve our passengers comfort levels; and to alay fears at times too. Thank You for your time. Glad the flight turned out to be uneventful. :-)Best,Dave