# NTSB Safety Recommendation Letter P-76-095

**Citation:** P-76-095  
**Type / status:** guidance / guidance  
**Agency:** National Transportation Safety Board  
**Effective:** 1977-01-31  
**Published:** 1977-01-31

Official NTSB transmittal letter for safety recommendation P-76-095, issued 1977-01-31.

## Document text

Page 1
s WASHINGTON, D.C. FOR RELEASE: 6:30 P.M,, E , S , T . / JANUARY 31, 1977 (202) 426-8787 ISSUED: January 31, 1977 ---_-______________________l__l_ F o r w a r d e d to: I M r . George G r i f f i t h I Pr es iden t The G r i f f i t h Company 1 SAFETY RECOMMENDAT I O N ( S ) 3650 Cherry Avenue I P . 0 . Box 980 I P-76-95 I Long Beach, California 90801 I I I I I M r . Charles U. Poss President C . W . P o s s , Inc. 7459 Large Circle Huntington Beach, California _________________I__----_--- A t 1 0 : 3 2 a.m., P . d . t . , on June 1 6 , 1976, a piece of construction equipment excavating f o r a s t r e e t widening project on Venice Boulevard i n Los Angeles, California, struck and punctured an 8-inch petroleum products pipeline owned by the Standard O i l Company of California. The escaping gasoline sprayed on nearby buildings and ignited 90 seconds l a t e r . A s a r e s u l t of t h i s accident 9 persons were k i l l e d , 1 4 persons were injured, 7 buildings were destroyed, other buildings were damaged by f i r e and heat, and 1 5 vehicles were destroyed. The intense f i r e melted powerlines and t e l e - phone l i n e s . &/ The California Department of Transportation, designers and originators of the construction project; the G r i f f i t h Company, the prime contractor f o r the project; C . W . Poss, I n c . , the sub- contractor; and the Standard O i l Company of California were a l l aware of the existence of the 8-inch pipeline. However, the precise depth of the pipeline within the accident area was not known, although preconstruction meetings had been held, testholes t o determine t h e pipeline depth had been dug a t other locations, and the pipeline i n another area had been lowered because of i t s insufficient depth. - 11 For more detailed information on t h i s accident, read "Standard O i l Company of Califarnia, 8-Inch Pipeline Rupture, Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, June 1 6 , 1976." NTSB-PAR,-76-8 . 1939

Page 2
- 2 - P-76-95 No "one-call'' n o t i f i c a t i o n system was i n e f f e c t i n the Los Angeles area at the time of the accident which would have enabled the contractor t o request and receive specific infoma- t i o n concerning the depth and location of buried u t i l i t i e s . Therefore, the National Transportation Safety Board recommends t h a t the G r i f f i t h Company and C . W. Poss, Inc.: Cooperate and coordinate with 'those groups attempting t o establish a "one-call'' system i n areas i n which they conduct excavation a c t i v i t i e s . (Class 11, P r i o r i t y F o l l o ~ p ) (P-76-95) TODD, Chairman, BAILEY, Vice Chairman, HOGUE and HALEY, Members, concurred i n the above recommendation. McADAMS, Member, did not p a r t i c i p a t e . By: Chairman THIS RECOMMENDATION WILL BE RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC ON THE ISSUE DATE SHOWN ABOVE. NO PUBLIC DISSEMINATION OF THIS DOCUMENT SHOULD BE MADE PRIOR TO THAT DATE.

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/P76_95.pdf>
- Source ID: `ntsb-transmittal-letters`
- SHA-256: `afb111a59a53c361ea0ba71b98bd62063ab52a50bd36f7ecc0708c95107f6abb`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T04:55:47.446Z
- Exported: 2026-08-26T14:42:57.011Z
- Document slug: `ntsb-transmittal-letter-p76-95`

### Source metadata

```json
{
  "materialSubtype": "ntsb_safety_recommendation_transmittal_letter",
  "recommendationNumbers": [
    "P-76-095"
  ],
  "issuedOn": "1977-01-31",
  "pageCount": 2,
  "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/ntsb-transmittal-letters/artifacts/p76-95.pdf",
  "pdfArtifactSha256": "16ea2a32c00f42ac0b2d8befeb005131087c06c85cb8a902c773179a8eab06e3",
  "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/ntsb-transmittal-letters/artifacts/p76-95.txt",
  "extractedTextSha256": "da40d39f2179c3d74aca0ae084d052d24ddbe061c12182710cc3f8094634f790",
  "extractionVersion": 2,
  "normalizationVersion": 1,
  "citedSections": [],
  "caveat": "An NTSB safety recommendation is advisory and does not itself create a binding regulatory requirement.",
  "jurisdiction": "US"
}
```