TAIPEI, July 26  -- Data on the two black boxes of TransAsia Airways Flight GE 222 remains intact and has been downloaded to help investigators look into the cause of the plane crash that killed 48 people, Taiwan's aviation safety council said on Saturday.

The council said although the two black boxes had been badly damaged outside, the data inside remains unimpaired.

A full report on the cause of the crash could take one year to finish, the council said, but a preliminary report containing facts and data of the accident might be completed within three to four months.

Foreign experts including those from the French-Italian manufacturer of the ATR-72 that crashed and its engine provider Pratt&Whitney Canada have arrived in Penghu for investigation.

As of Saturday afternoon, bodies of 44 of the victims have been identified, according to Taiwan's civil aeronautics authority.

The flight, which took off from Kaohsiung on Wednesday evening, crashed into residential buildings in Xixi Village of Penghu after a failed emergency landing at Magong Airport.

The flight was carrying 54 passengers and four crew members.