WASHINGTON (Mar. 26, 2026) — Two natural gas pipeline explosions that destroyed homes in Jackson, Mississippi, happened after Atmos Energy Corporation failed to promptly repair underground gas leaks it had already identified, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.
On January 24, 2024, about 8:14 a.m. local time, natural gas leaked from a
compression coupling into a home on Bristol Boulevard in Jackson, Mississippi, causing an explosion and fire that resulted in one fatality, one injury, and a destroyed home. Three days later, on January 27, 2024, about 4:34 a.m., natural gas leaked from a compression coupling into a home on Shalimar Drive, about 0.7 miles from the first explosion, causing an explosion and fire that destroyed two homes.
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(A compression coupling is a pipeline component that joins and seals two pipes together. It is typically belowground and connects a service-line pipe to a main-line pipe.) near the accident homes, natural gas leaked from service-line pipes that had partially pulled out of compression couplings and migrated through the ground and into the homes where it fueled the explosions. The leaks near the accident homes were the result of expansive clay soil movement that caused the service-line pipes at both locations to, over time, partially pull out of the compression couplings. For both accidents, Atmos Energy Corporation (Atmos) leak surveys detected belowground leaks weeks before the explosion and classified them as nonhazardous.
Several people in the two accident neighborhoods smelled natural gas
odorant and were unaware of pipeline safety guidance to evacuate and then
immediately report the smell by calling 9-1-1 and the gas company
