Pipeline Accident Report
Rupture of Hazardous Liquid Pipeline
With Release and Ignition of Propane
Carmichael, Mississippi
November 1, 2007

NTSB Number: PAR-09/01
NTIS Number: PB2009-916501

PDF Document (1.23 MB)

Executive Summary: On November 1, 2007, at 10:35:02 a.m. central daylight time, a 12-inch-diameter pipeline segment operated by Dixie Pipeline Company was transporting liquid propane at about 1,405 pounds per square inch, gauge, when it ruptured in a rural area near Carmichael, Mississippi. The resulting gas cloud expanded over nearby homes and ignited, creating a large fireball that was heard and seen from miles away. About 10,253 barrels (430,626 gallons) of propane were released. As a result of the ensuing fire, two people were killed and seven people sustained minor injuries. Four houses were destroyed, and several others were damaged. About 71.4 acres of grassland and woodland were burned. Dixie Pipeline Company reported that property damages resulting from the accident, including the loss of product, were $3,377,247.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the November 1, 2007, rupture of the liquid propane pipeline operated by Dixie Pipeline Company near Carmichael, Mississippi, was the failure of a weld that caused the pipe to fracture along the longitudinal seam weld, a portion of the upstream girth weld, and portions of the adjacent pipe joints.

The following safety issues were identified as a result of the investigation of this accident:

• The failure mechanisms and safety of low-frequency electric resistance welded pipe,
  
• The adequacy of Dixie Pipeline Company’s public education program,
  
• The adequacy of federal pipeline safety regulations and oversight exercised by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration of pipeline operators’ public education and emergency responder outreach programs, and
  
• Emergency communications in Clarke County, Mississippi.

Safety recommendations to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Dixie Pipeline Company, the American Petroleum Institute, and the Clarke County Board of Supervisors are included in the report.

Related information:

• Press Release
• Accident Docket