Hi Carrier
Is a B1900 able to legally take 24 people? I have flown in numerous B1900s in different continents and the most any have taken is 21 - two crew and 19 pax.
You are probably 100% right if you were to follow the POH and the rest of the documentation like W&B etc . . .
But from experience in Africa - that was probably only the recommendation in the eyes of the people - it was probably deemed safe to add a pax sitting on a cooler box or suitcase.
In Africa certification to a certain number of seats is nearly always deemed a recommended number - if there is space - Hey they can probably fit in?
The other option was probably the fact that the reports could be a bit distorted - like reporters jumping to confusion - and drawing conclusions from anything but facts!
Stirred?
VG300