As you can see, seniority was not an issue here so perhaps we can put that speculation to rest.
"Seniority" might more comprehensively be referred to as "rank", and can encompass factors other than chronological age in a hierarchical society.
Hierarchy can have many gradations that may override a slight seniority in age. One pilot may have been with the company longer. He may have held a higher rank in the military. There may have been a socioeconomic class difference in their upbringing. Someone earlier in the thread mentioned the instructor was in a junior class to the PF at technical university.
None of which would matter in the absence of an authoritarian culture with strong social norms of unquestioning deference to those of higher stature, with the potential to impede communication.
I don't know if any of these were factors on the flight deck that day, but in any case it seems flip to point to a 3-year age difference and claim that this puts the seniority issue to rest.
Last edited by tech9803; 10th Jul 2013 at 06:15.