Here is a concept probably easier understood by the average person.
You can take your desktop computer and drop it off the roof of a 10 story building. The computer will be no good, but it is highly likely the hard drive will be OK, and even if damaged (inoperable) the data on the ‘disc’ is still there and can be read. You could even immerse it in water for weeks and it would be ok.
The ‘black box’ (yellow/orange in reality) is built much tougher than your desktop PC.
P.S. On the other hand, the data on the disc does take time to ‘read’. Even in the best of conditions, the data has to be downloaded, and the data has to be ‘decoded’ and then the information has to be analyzed. The ‘analysis’ can take weeks. The ‘voice’ recordings are easier to ‘process’ and quicker, but it helps to be able to match up the ‘voice’ and the ‘data’ first.
At any rate, they are really only saying it will take longer because of the damage.
I certainly can’t accuse them of stalling just because they don’t release the information until the analysis is complete.