instrument pad damage due to freezing weather?

[strongbat]

I recently shipped a student flute cross-county after selling the instrument. I had recently had it in the shop and several pads were replaced, and the flute was pronounced as being in good playable condition. Well, then the person who received it now claims that several pads are cracked and the flute needs a complete overhaul.

I am wondering if pads would crack if exposed to extreme temperatures? It was shipped before the big polar freeze, but it was still very cold.

[pied_piper]

Although I've never actually seen a case where I could unequivocally say that extreme cold cracked pad skins, I would say it is at least theoretically possible. As flute pads age, the skin covering will become more brittle and therefore more prone to splitting and cracking. If the flute experienced very extreme cold temperatures in a truck while shipping, it may be plausible that some pad skins shrunk enough from extreme cold that they could split.