Fix the 'Aircraft loading failed' error in MSFS 2024 by checking streaming, isolating add-ons, refreshing packages and rebuilding the cache.
“Aircraft loading failed” in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 usually means the simulator could not retrieve, validate or initialise the selected aircraft. The common causes are a streaming or sign-in problem, damaged cached or package data, an incompatible add-on, a missing dependency, or an aircraft entitlement that has not synchronised. Test a stock aircraft first.
Why does MSFS 2024 say “Aircraft loading failed”?
The message appears when the selected aircraft package cannot be made ready before the flight starts. MSFS 2024 streams substantial amounts of content, so an aircraft can fail even when the small locally installed simulator application opens normally.
| Failure pattern | Likely cause | Best first check |
|---|---|---|
| Only one livery fails | Missing base aircraft or an incompatible livery | Load the aircraft with its default livery |
| Only one add-on aircraft fails | Outdated package, missing dependency or mod conflict | Test the aircraft with all related mods removed |
| A saved flight fails, but a new flight works | Stale aircraft reference or damaged saved-flight data | Rebuild the flight from the Free Flight screen |
| Every stock aircraft fails | Sign-in, streaming, cache or core-content problem | Restart the simulator and test the online connection |
| The fault started after an update | Incomplete content update, stale cache or incompatible add-on | Complete all content updates and use Safe Mode |
A long first load is not automatically a failure. After an update or cache rebuild, a complex cockpit may take longer to initialise; wait once if the progress indicator is still moving and no error has appeared.
How do I fix the aircraft loading failure?
The fastest fix is to determine whether the fault affects one aircraft or the entire simulator, then change only the relevant content.
- Quit MSFS 2024 completely. On a console, close the simulator rather than leaving it suspended. This resets the content-streaming and account session.
- Run a clean stock-aircraft test. Create a new Free Flight using an aircraft included with your edition, its default livery and a normal departure airport. Do not load a saved flight. If this also fails, follow our broader clean-flight isolation checks.
- Check the account and connection. Confirm that the simulator is signed into the account entitled to use the aircraft and that online data services are enabled. Restart the router or platform if several stock aircraft suddenly fail; a temporary service or authentication problem is more likely than simultaneous package corruption.
- Finish every available update. Update the simulator and the affected aircraft or optional content, then restart MSFS. If the problem began immediately after an update, use these post-update content and cache checks.
- Remove add-ons from the test. Use Safe Mode when it is offered after an abnormal shutdown. On PC, close the simulator and temporarily move everything out of the
Communityfolder; on Xbox or PlayStation, disable optional add-on content through the in-simulator library or content-management screen. - Refresh the affected aircraft package. In My Library or the available content-management screen, remove or disable the aircraft, restart the simulator, then download, stream or enable it again. Do not manually delete the entire
Officialfolder. - Rebuild the cache when failures are widespread. Delete and recreate the Rolling Cache through the simulator’s data settings. Rolling Cache primarily stores world data, so this is useful when many flights or locations fail, but it is not the first fix for one faulty third-party aircraft.
- Repair the base installation last. If every stock aircraft still fails, use the platform’s repair or file-verification facility before reinstalling MSFS 2024. Do not delete cloud saves or Career data merely to test an aircraft-loading problem.
What if only one add-on aircraft will not load?
If stock aircraft load successfully, the simulator core is working and the add-on or one of its dependencies is the likely fault. Do not reinstall the whole simulator for a failure confined to one package.
- Confirm that the aircraft explicitly supports MSFS 2024; compatibility with MSFS 2020 does not guarantee that every gauge, script or flight-model modification will work.
- Install any required base aircraft, library or avionics dependency before loading the add-on.
- Remove liveries, sound packs, cockpit modifications and compatibility patches that alter the same aircraft.
- On PC, check that an extra nested folder has not buried the package files. A valid package normally exposes files such as
manifest.jsonandlayout.jsonat its package level.
Our add-on compatibility and dependency checklist covers clean package reinstallation in more detail. If the simulator crashes when the cockpit or avionics initialise, use the targeted WASM crash fixes instead.
Should I reinstall Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024?
A full reinstall is usually unnecessary for an aircraft-loading error. Reinstall or refresh the individual aircraft when only that aircraft fails; repair the base simulator only when multiple stock aircraft fail after a clean test, the account and connection are working, and all updates are complete.
On PC, remember that reinstalling the application may leave the Community folder or custom package location untouched. An incompatible add-on can therefore survive the reinstall and reproduce the same error when MSFS starts again.