One of the engines on the crashed TransAsia flight stopped 37 seconds after take-off and the pilots could have switched off the remaining one in an attempt to restart both, according to Taiwan's top aviation safety official.

Preliminary investigation findings, based on black box data, were presented at a news conference in Taipei by Aviation Safety Council Executive Director Thomas Wang.

"The first engine experienced a problem 37 seconds after take-off at 1,200 feet [366 meters]," Wang said, as cited by Reuters.

"The flight crew stepped on the accelerator of engine 2 . The engine was still operating, but neither engine produced power."

The flight recorders indicate the plane warned five times of stalling before it crashed.

The right engine appears to have failed to produce enough thrust, Wang said. The flight crew then chose to shut down the left engine. They then tried to restart both, but did not succeed.