Abstract: Coupling a landed helicopter to a positioning device, on a ship deck, for example, has up to now been carried out by an operator in such a way that the operator manually operates a grasping means (18), engaging with a longitudinal side of the helicopter, and stops it. The coupling device and method according to the invention use an optical device (30) on at least on grasping mechanism (18) and a reflection means, corresponding to an optical device on the helicopter. The optical device (30) locates the helicopter regardless of the helicopter's landing position, and moves the grasping mechanism (18) by means of corresponding control systems in simple fashion to an exact coupling position without any need for intervention by an operator.