NEW YORK - Crash investigators said yesterday that they were managing to get information from the flight data recorder of American Flight 587, despite damage to the black box.

Marion Blakey, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the manufacturer was able to repair the device and data was being looked at by investigators.

The flight data recorder could provide clues to Monday's mysterious crash, including why the tail fin tore away shortly after takeoff.

Both of the plane's engines have been recovered and taken to a hangar at Kennedy International Airport, where the plane took off Monday morning.

Three minutes later, the plane began shedding parts and nose-dived into a Queens neighborhood, killing 265 people. Authorities have not ruled out any cause, but say all signs point to a mechanical failure.

The scorched and battered data recorder, one of the plane's two "black boxes," was recovered Tuesday. It was repaired by L-3 Communications, its manufacturer in Sarasota, Fla.

The data recorder monitors nearly 200 separate functions in the European-made jetliner, including rudder movements.

In particular, investigators hope the flight data will shed light on why the vertical stabilizer, or tail fin, sheared away.

"We'll be looking very carefully at how the tail failed," the NTSB's George Black Jr. said.

The tail fin was fished out of Jamaica Bay on Monday, a short distance from the crash site; the rudder was found nearby on Tuesday. The rudder, which is supported by the tail fin, controls the plane's turns from side to side.

The 27-foot-tall tail fin was ripped off the fuselage cleanly, as if it had been sliced by a knife. David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, said he and several pilots he spoke to were struck by the sight.

"It's as if you had a model of an airplane and you just snapped the stabilizer off," he said. "It's really shocking and surprising."

One possibility investigators are considering is that the Airbus A300 broke apart after hitting turbulence from a plane taking off before it. The pilots on Flight 587 mentioned hitting wake turbulence, which is believed to have contributed to other deadly airline crashes.