The personal disputes discussed here extend far beyond the flight deck. Imagine the same conflict in an operating theatre?
However there are other issues in places like the Far East where it is not acceptable to question a senior person.
One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 is a good example.
On the day of the crash, the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 [9] departed Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport, Thailand at 14:31 local time en route to Phuket International Airport as flight number OG269.[2] The flight crew consisted of captain Arief Mulyadi, an Indonesian national and the Chief Pilot of One-Two-Go Airlines, and a former Indonesian Air Force pilot, first officer Montri Kamolrattanachai, a Thai national who had recently completed his flight training with One-Two-GO’s ab initio program. The aircraft was carrying 123 passengers and 7 crew members. OG269 was the fourth of six flights between Bangkok and Phuket that Arief and Montri were scheduled to fly that day.[2]
On approach to Phuket, captain Arief made several radio communications errors including read-back/hear-back communications and misstating their flight number. First officer Montri was the flying pilot.[2]
Another aircraft landed immediately prior to flight 269 and experienced wind shear. That aircraft's captain contacted the tower and reported wind shear on final and cumulonimbus over the airport, a report audible to all incoming aircraft. Air Traffic Control requested flight 269 acknowledge the weather information provided and re-state intentions. Captain Arief acknowledged the transmission and stated his intention to land.[2]
OG269 conducted an ILS approach just north of the centerline on runway 27. As the landing proceeded, ATC reported increasing winds at 240 degrees from 15–30 knots (28–56 km/h; 17–35 mph), then to 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph). Captain Arief acknowledged the reports. ATC requested intentions again. Captain Arief said, “Landing”.[2]
As the aircraft descended to 115 feet (35 m) above ATL, its airspeed dropped. Captain Arief repeatedly called for more power as First Officer Monti attempted the landing. The aircraft continued to descend and fell below 50 feet (15 m) above ATL, causing the auto-throttle to reduce engine thrust to idle. One second later, First Officer Montri called “Go Around”. This was acknowledged by the captain. The first officer then attempted to transfer control of the aircraft to captain Arief. There was no verbal acknowledgement of this from captain Arief.[2]
The pilots retracted the landing gear and set flaps for go-around. The aircraft pitch changed from 2 degrees to 12 degrees as the aircraft climbed, its engines still at idle. Airspeed fell and the aircraft climbed to a maximum altitude of 262 feet (80 m) ATL before beginning to descend. For 13 seconds the engines remained at idle. The aircraft pitch angle decreased to near 0 and then the throttle was manually increased two seconds before impact with an embankment along the runway at 15:40. The aircraft was severely damaged by a post crash fire.[2]
And the NTSB concluded
The cause of the crash was found to be due to a combination of human performance and operational issues, including: Human Performance:[1]
CRM issues, including attempted transfer of control of the aircraft at a critical moment
Failure of either pilot to apply power while attempting to regain altitude
Fatigue issues as both pilots had worked illegally excessive hours for the week and the month