How do I fix ‘Aircraft loading failed’ in MSFS 2024?

“Aircraft loading failed” in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 means the selected aircraft package, livery, dependency or streamed data could not be retrieved, validated or initialised. Test a stock aircraft with its default livery at an unmodified airport; then isolate add-ons, account and online-data faults before repairing only the package that fails.

Why does MSFS 2024 say “Aircraft loading failed”?

The message appears when MSFS cannot prepare the selected aircraft or create the flight session. Because MSFS 2024 streams substantial content, the application may open normally even when an aircraft, entitlement or required online data is unavailable.

A long first load is not automatically a failure. After an update or cache rebuild, a complex cockpit may initialise slowly; wait once if progress is still moving and no error has appeared.

How do I fix the aircraft loading failure?

The quickest route is to identify whether one package or the whole simulator is affected, then change only the relevant content.

1. Quit MSFS 2024 completely. Do not resume a suspended session. Close it from the system menu on Xbox or PlayStation; on PC, confirm that the simulator has exited before restarting the machine.
2. Run a controlled stock test. Create a new Free Flight with an aircraft included in your edition, its default livery and an unmodified airport. Avoid Career Mode, saved flights, imported plans and add-on scenery. If that combination also fails, follow our broader stock-aircraft and default-airport loading checks.
3. Check the account and online data. Confirm that the entitled account is signed in, online functionality is enabled and any configured data allowance has not been exhausted. If several stock aircraft suddenly fail, restart the router or platform before assuming that multiple packages are damaged.
4. Complete all available updates. Update MSFS and the affected aircraft, avionics packages, libraries and optional content together, then restart the simulator. A partially updated dependency can leave the aircraft visible in the selector but unable to load.
5. Remove third-party content from the test. On PC, move everything out of the active Community folder. On consoles, disable recently installed optional content through the available library or content controls. Use Safe Mode once if it is offered after an abnormal shutdown.
6. Restore add-ons in small groups. Start with the aircraft alone, then add its required libraries or avionics, followed by liveries, sound packs and cockpit modifications. A mistake we see constantly is reinstalling the aircraft while leaving an incompatible livery active. The last restored group before the error returns contains the likely culprit.
7. Refresh the affected package. In My Library or the platform’s content controls, disable or remove the aircraft’s local content where that option exists, restart MSFS, then enable, stream or download it again. Do not manually delete the entire Official folder.
8. Rebuild the Rolling Cache when failures are widespread. Delete and recreate it through the simulator’s data settings where the control is available. The Rolling Cache mainly stores world data, so this can help with failures across aircraft or locations but is not the first fix for one faulty add-on.
9. Repair core files last. If stock aircraft still fail at several stock airports, use the PC platform’s Verify or Repair facility, choosing Repair before any destructive Reset option. On a console, check managed content and free storage, then power-cycle the machine.

What if only one add-on aircraft will not load?

If stock aircraft work, the simulator core is probably sound and the add-on, one of its dependencies or another package modifying it is responsible. Reinstalling the whole simulator is unnecessary.

• Confirm that the aircraft explicitly supports MSFS 2024. MSFS 2020 compatibility does not guarantee that its gauges, scripts or flight-model changes will work unchanged.
• Install and enable every required base aircraft, library and avionics dependency.
• Remove duplicate installations and conflicting liveries, sounds, cockpit modifications or compatibility patches.
• On PC, check for an extra nested folder. A valid package normally exposes manifest.json and layout.json at its package level; our guide to correct Community-folder placement and package nesting covers this common installation fault.

Errors that begin after an MSFS update

An update can expose an aircraft, livery or compiled module that still expects the previous simulator interface. Update every dependency together and do not leave one copy in the Community folder while another is enabled through Marketplace content.

Use our package-by-package checks for add-ons broken by MSFS updates when an aircraft worked before the update. If a complex cockpit freezes, crashes or returns to the menu as its systems initialise, follow the WASM module isolation procedure instead.

Emptying the Community folder is non-destructive

Moving its contents elsewhere temporarily disables those packages; it does not delete them. Marketplace packages are generally managed separately. Keep the original files outside the active package path and restore them only after the stock test succeeds.

Should I reinstall Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024?

Reinstall MSFS 2024 only when default aircraft fail at several default airports with optional content disabled, online access working, updates complete, the cache refreshed and core files repaired. Reinstallation rarely fixes an incompatible add-on or temporary streaming fault.

On PC, reinstalling the application may leave the Community folder or a custom package location untouched. The same incompatible package can therefore survive the reinstall and reproduce the error when MSFS starts again.