SHANGHAI, May 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released data this week indicating the fuel supply to both engines ‌of a China Eastern Airlines flight was switched off before the ‌jet plunged into a hillside in southern China in March 2022, killing all 132 people ​on board.

The data, which was released by NTSB in response to a freedom of information request and originated from the plane's flight data recorder, showed the fuel switches for both engines moved simultaneously from the run position ‌to the cutoff position before ⁠the jet descended.

“It was found that while cruising at 29,000 feet, the fuel switches on both engines moved from ⁠the run position to the cutoff position. Engine speeds decreased after the fuel switch movement,” the NTSB report said.

Fuel switches on Boeing 737 aircraft are physical ​controls ​regulating fuel flow to the engines, and ​a pilot must pull the ‌switch up before moving it from run to cutoff.

The crash of the Boeing 737-800, operated as China Eastern flight MU5735, was China's deadliest air disaster in decades.

Chinese regulators have not released a full report detailing the findings of their investigation into the crash and have given no update into ‌their investigation for more than two years.

The ​Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and China ​Eastern Airlines did not respond ​to Reuters' request for comment on the report and ‌a spokesperson for China's Ministry of ​Foreign Affairs declined to ​answer a question about the U.S. findings at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.

The flight data recorder is one of the two ​black boxes recovered from ‌the wreckage. It was sent to the NTSB laboratory in ​Washington for analysis because Boeing is an American aircraft manufacturer.

(Reporting by ​Casey Hall; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)