The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Tuesday evening that it was extracting data from the recorder but had no comment on the quality of the data recovered so far.

"The magnetic tape was removed from its protective casing, cleaned and dried," NTSB chairman James Hall said in a statement. "The tape has data on it, and NTSB engineers are currently working to extract information."

The NTSB was hoping to reveal partial findings from the recorder on Wednesday.