Hi All!

This september i flew Frontier from IAD to MCO. DDeparting IAD i saw that a piece of the plane was missing under the wing on the right side of the aircraft
Ground staff were pointing at it as we started the taxi and i was nervous but was of course sure that everyone knew about this.
When we landed in MCO ground staff immidiately started taking pictures of it when we reached our position.
Upon landing in MCO i alerted the staff and captain and showed them the picture of the missing piece. They reacted with surprise, and they didnt know about it at all! The flight attendant even said to me that i should have said something earlier, as if that was my responsibility. I was scared the whole way, but when i found out that the captain DID NOT know about it, I started sweating! I am a nervous flyer and this has just made it much worse.

I got the following lame reply from Frontier:
"Hello Valued Customer,
Thank you for letting me know about your stressful flight on September 23, 2018 when traveling from Washington DC to Orlando. I'm really sorry to hear that you experienced distress due to something that you noticed prior to take off that the flight crew seemed to be unaware of.
Safety Is Our Priority
At Frontier, we are focused on providing a good experience to our customers and ensuring that our aircraft are safe, something that can often cause delays or even cancellations. Please know that our maintenance staff examine our aircraft carefully to ensure that we are ensuring the safety of our passengers. In tracking the aircraft that flew this flight on the date you provided, I have been unable to confirm an issue that matches your description
Customer Care"
Feedback like yours allows us to better identify areas needing improvement and I appreciate the time you have taken to help us out.
We Hear You
Frontier has a hard earned reputation of providing excellent customer service and it’s disappointing when we receive reports of anything less than that. Nevertheless, I am grateful you brought this to our attention, so we can take appropriate measures to ensure your experience is not repeated.
Come Back Soon
We appreciate your feedback as we are always seeking ways to improve as an airline. I'm sorry that you were distressed by what you observed, however we have an excellent safety record and I'm confident your next experience with us will be a good one!
Regards,"

Im really not satisfied with that answer and somehow feel that they should be held responsible. What can i do about it? Was i right that this is a security concern, was I in danger? Why didnt ground staff react before takeoff, even though they clearly saw it? Im not from the US so dont know who to contact.

Hope some experts in here can make me relax a little

My picture didnt come thorough? It says i cant post URL�s until i have 5 posts. But im not posting a URL, im attaching a picture. What am i doing wrong?

I cant comment on the issue you are having posting pictures. Maintenance is indeed vital part of an airline and the last thing that a carrier will cut/minimize of its service. I do believe that the ground crew was aware of the missing part you mentioned and was already noted. It may have not been a "vital" part that could have prevented the aircraft to fly, after all, you did make it to MCO in once piece and without any inconvenience, except for being nervous, correct? Planes, cars, trains, boats can operate safely even if they are missing certain parts. Most of them have safety features built into them as well as self diagnostic check lights and procedures. There are certain procedures that need to perform on an aircraft after so many hours of flight time, much like the car oil change, and the like. Some are more critical than others.

Have you seen those Jeep Cj's with the removable doors, it may not be normal but people do drive them. The flight attendant was correct when she mentioned that should have said something. There is a saying that goes "If you see something, say something". Maybe by alerting them they could have checked and verify the situation, perhaps an announcement could have been made to ease the passengers, who knows. You even could have opted of not flying as well. As for Frontier response, it appears to be a standard response and addressed the issue, they take safety seriously. I'm not sure what they meant regarding no being able match an issue to what you describe, seeing that with the flight # and date they can easily verify which plane flew the route and what service orders have been recorded, but perhaps they are not involved with that matter or the issue was minimal and solved without any notification.

Frontier is certainly responsible to this, after all they got you to your destination didn't they? Where you in danger, does not seem so. Security concern, well, more like maintenance, but still it appears maybe it was not vital enough to delay/stop the flight.

hi arollins. Thanks for your reply. I agree that i got there in one piece, but ground staff were grabbing eachother and pointing to the missing part when we were taxiing away. And if they knew, shouldnt the pilot know at least? The pilot was indeed very surprised when i told him upon arrival and his face turned red. Im not implying that there was danger, but im just concerned about such things happening, as there is a clear miscommunication between groundstaff and pilots it seems. This time i was okay, what about next time?

Again thanks for your reply. Ill try to reach 5 posts now so i can post the pictures.

Looks to me like a cover that is missing, I doubt it would impact the aerodynamics of the wing sufficiently to be a major risk to the aircraft's ability to fly normally, though obviously it is distressing to see that and be unsure, certainly if then the flight crew are also unaware.

First, this is not a security but a safety concern.

Second, this should have been reported by OP to a FA immediately. Even if it was a critical part, that doesn't mean that the aircraft will fail. Simply that it is unsafe to fly. While it is primarily F9's responsibility to deal with the issue, someone seated inside the aircraft is at risk as well. If reported, the Captain can make a decision.

Third, clearly the Captain should have known of this and apparently did not. The fact that ground crew are taking photos suggests that they know that something is missing. Many such issues are not a reason to hold the flight, but nonetheless it is the Captain's final decision.

Finally, writing to F9's customer service people is pointless. That is a perhaps useful channel to complain about the lukewarm coffee and the like. But, the low-level people who choose cut & paste answers have a stock response for this stuff and that is what OP got. Send a complaint to FAA. That will generate an inquiry to F9 for full documentation which will include a paper trail showing (or not) that a decision was made by the Captain.

Thanks for your reply. Im relieved to hear that noone thinks i was in danger. I guess there is no reason for me to report it to the FAA, because as you pointed out, they will most lkely already be aware. However im still shocked by the staff�s reaction; kind of blaming me for not alerting them to it

Thanks again for your replies.

Here is a pick from the inside of an F9 plane falling apart over the holidays.