Patent ID: 8911194

Claim:
A soft capture cradle useful for moving an aircraft having a nose wheel, the cradle comprising: a front left capture gate; a front right capture gate; a forward motion safety bar; a rear capture plate; a forward motion safety switch connected to the forward motion safety bar configured to disengage the throttle of an aircraft tug porter when the forward motion safety bar contacts the aircraft nose-wheel; a means for moving the front left capture gate and front right capture gate between a cradle open position and a cradle closed position; a means for moving the cradle between a cradle up position and a cradle down position; and a gate lock and cradle locator safety switch configured to locate the cradle, configured to stop the “cradle down” movement when the cradle is lowered to the ground, and configured to prevent “cradle open” movement when the cradle is in the up position.