Black box data yesterday revealed that an initial safety warning had sounded in the cockpit just seconds after take off from Taipei's Sungshan Airport.
Less than a minute into the flight the left engine experienced "flameout", which can occur when the fuel supply to an engine is cut, or when the compressor stalls.
Moments later the right engine failed to produce enough thrust to keep its propeller rotating properly, a state known as "auto-feathering".
"The first engine experience a problem 37 seconds after take off at 1,200 feet," said Thomas Wang, managing director of the council. "The flight crew stepped on the accelerator of engine two [the right engine] ... the engine was still operating, but neither engine produced power."
Flight GE235 was carrying 58 passengers and crew and was bound for the Kinmen islands, a popular holiday resort. Fifteen people are known to have survived, with 35 confirmed dead and eight still missing.
Dramatic footage of the ATR-72-600 prop-jet aircraft's final trajectory was caught from the dashboard camera of a passing vehicle. It depicts the plane narrowly missing high-rise apartment buildings and clipping an overpass.
The plane's data showed that the left engine was shut down manually. Mr Wang told reporters it was not clear why the engine had been shut down. "We are not reaching any judgment yet," he said.
In the final seconds before the plane crashed the pilots made a mayday call to Sungshan airport's control tower and attempted to restart the engines.
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