Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) recovery is disclosed. An example apparatus to recover an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) includes a support rail to support a cable. The apparatus also includes a pivot arm to rotate about a pivot, where the cable is suspended between the support rail and the pivot arm, and where the pivot arm is rotated to a first orientation when the UAV contacts the cable and rotated to a second orientation when the UAV is brought to a stop. The apparatus also includes at least one of a friction device or a damper operatively coupled to the cable to resist motion of the cable during rotation of the pivot arm from the first orientation to the second orientation.