Airway-
You also hit the nail on the head.
No matter how large or small the Captain's ego,he/she can always be the person who is right, if they need to exploit their rank.
The types with ego problems and/or the unwillingness to consider concerns voiced by other crewmembers, even if they have the best situational awareness/self-descipline in the world, created the need for a CRM program. This was begun partly because of a DC-8 which was getting very low on fuel over Portland, Oregon. The L-1011 crash in the Everglades might have inspired the need, along with the (Western) DC-10 in Mexico City, the Jetstream accident at Hibbing, Minnesota, and the worst disaster, at Tenerife.
Egos or over-riding anxieties over duty period regulations etc led to thousands of deaths.
