DENVER -- An up-close look at the burned-out wreckage that was a Continental Boeing 737 paints an eerie image of what the 115 passengers and crew members may have gone through before escaping Flight 1404.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which has completed its on-scene investigation of the crash at Denver International Airport, provided journalists their first up-close look on Friday.

The Houston-bound jet veered off a runway at DIA on Dec. 20 and skidded into a ravine, bursting into flames. Thirty-eight people were injured.

There are still many questions about what caused the plane to veer off the runway and catch fire but it could be months until authorities have a definitive cause. NTSB investigators say they're in the process of taking evidence they've gathered at the scene and moving it to Washington where it can be further analyzed.

The badly burned Continental plane currently sits on a concrete apron near DIA. Inside the charred fuselage of the plane are melted plastic armrests and overhead bins and charred fabric on the seats. The windows are nearly gone and the right side of the plane is blackened.

While personal effects have been removed and some returned to their owners, there are things left behind, such as a soda can, water bottle and even the laminated placard showing passengers how to exit safely in an emergency.

Even with the destructive fire, the NTSB said it appears much of the critical evidence they need is intact.

"The burn is mostly skin. We won’t know until we examine some of those electronics but they all appear, at least visually, in good shape," said NTSB Investigator Bill English. "That's what we're doing right now is a systematic fact gathering."

The black boxes, including the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, have been pulled and are being analyzed. They are also analyzing another recorder that is used for maintenance.

"It's an additional recorder that might help us get some additional information as well about the performance of the aircraft," English said.

English said a large quantity of evidence going back to Washington D.C. consists of "control actuators and electronics."

Aviation consultant Steve Cowell told 7NEWS actuators are part of the systems that control steering of the aircraft.

"They're essentially looking at the guts, or inner workings of the steering system, to determine if anything failed," Cowell explained.

Investigators said it could take six to eight months before they release a public docket, which will include factual reports and a transcription of the cockpit voice recorder.

"Then the conclusions and findings will come generally a year or more ... when the final report is released," English said.

The charred aircraft is expected to remain at the DIA hangar for about a month, then be moved to a storage yard in Greeley.