Patent ID: 8517306

Claim:
In combination, an aircraft and a capturing apparatus adapted for capturing the aircraft, the aircraft comprising a) a hook attached to an outboard portion of a wing of said aircraft, said hook comprising an inboardly-extending forward part defining a forward side of an outboardly-extending passageway, the passageway having an inboardly-facing mouth, said hook being constructed and proportioned to intercept an arrestment line and reliably and releasably attach said aircraft to said arrestment line with a line retaining mechanism, and b) lateral deflecting structure constructed and arranged to reliably deflect the arrestment line laterally into engagement and attachment with the hook, the lateral deflecting structure comprising a leading edge of the wing of said aircraft, the capturing apparatus comprising c) the arrestment line, and d) a flexible support structure supported by a base, the flexible support structure being constructed to absorb energy by bending without breaking, the flexible support structure supporting the arrestment line across a flight path of the aircraft in a generally vertical orientation for capture of the hook, said support for said arrestment line being kept clear of the intended flight path of the aircraft, the capturing apparatus being so constructed and proportioned that elastic deformation of components of the capturing apparatus absorbs most of the energy during arrestment of the forward velocity of the aircraft.