About 12:12 p.m. CST on January 27, 2000, a Marathon Ashland Pipe Line LLC (Marathon Ashland) 24-inch-diameter pipeline that runs 265 miles between Owensboro and Catlettsburg, Kentucky, ruptured near Winchester, Kentucky. The ruptured pipeline released about 11,644 barrels (about 489,000 gallons) of crude oil onto a golf course and into Twomile Creek. No injuries or deaths resulted from the accident.
We determined the probable cause of the accident was fatigue cracking due to a dent in the pipe that, in combination with fluctuating pressures within the pipe, produced high local stresses in the pipe wall. Contributing to the severity of the accident was the failure of the controller and supervisors to timely recognize the rupture, shut down the pipeline, and isolate the ruptured section of the pipeline.
