The Aurora Fire Department responded to a water emergency on Cayuga Lake Monday evening after spotting a flashing light.
The light turned out to be an OceanScout sonar device launched by Cornell University on July 15. The device, nicknamed “Gollum” by technician Derek on tough days, had malfunctioned. It was supposed to dive, collect sound data, and resurface to check in.
The malfunction was likely due to a recent CrowdStrike outage. The sonar device was safely retrieved and returned to its caretaker for further testing before its planned ocean launch.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.