What happens when weight and gravity counteract the lift during flight?

When weight and gravity counteract the lift during flight, the aircraft descends. Lift is generated by the aircraft's wings and must overcome the effects of weight, which is the force of gravity acting on the aircraft. When the lift produced is less than the weight, the aircraft cannot maintain altitude and will begin to descend.

This principle is fundamental in understanding the balance of forces acting on an aircraft. In scenarios where lift is equal to weight, the aircraft will maintain level flight, and if lift exceeds weight, the aircraft will ascend. However, when weight is greater than lift, the downward force dominates, leading to a descent.

Thus, when these forces are in opposition, resulting in insufficient lift to counter the weight, the natural consequence is that the aircraft will lose altitude and descend.