A sign of really poor maintenance inspections. There are a pair of cables that run from the right flap bellcrank over to the left flap, above the headliner. Those cables fray right in the middle of the ceiling where there are small nylon pulleys that don't turn most of the time (sludged-up bearings), they get dirt embedded in them, the cables drag across that grit and vibrate against it too, and they get worn. Inspecting those is a 200-hour item, yet many guys can't be bothered. Those cables have to be in really poor shape to break, meaning that they've been ignored for a long time.
Another bad spot in Cessna flaps are the rollers that run in the flap tracks. Those rollers are just Torrington needle bearings with a sleeve pressed over them, and that sleeve shifts sideways a little on the bearing and cuts a circular groove in the flap support arm. Eventually the aluminum gets cut most of the way through, a circle of aluminum punches right out, and the flap cocks and jams and twists and can ratch up the whole aft spar in the wing. Cessna had a Service Bulletin on it nearly 20 years ago; there's no excuse for such stuff. McFarlane sells roller kits to fix the problem.
Dan