Final answer:
The action force is the airplane wing pushing down on air, and the reaction force is the air pushing up on the wing, both adhering to Newton's third law of motion and contributing to the airplane's lift.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the context of airplane flight, the action force is the airplane wing pushing down on the air.
According to Newton's third law of motion, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Hence, the reaction force is the air pushing up on the wing. This exchange of forces allows the airplane to generate lift.
The wings can achieve lift by utilizing the conservation of momentum principle, where the air molecules that are pushed down and backward generate an upward force on the airplane's wings.
This particular manifestation of Newton's third law is also present in numerous other systems, such as helicopters creating lift and rockets gaining thrust.