Fix MSFS 2020 crashes during a flight by isolating add-ons, clearing caches, testing DirectX, and checking drivers, memory, temperatures and logs.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 usually crashes during a flight because of incompatible aircraft or scenery add-ons, a graphics-driver or DirectX fault, exhausted RAM or VRAM, a corrupt rolling cache, or unstable hardware. Start with a stock aircraft and an empty Community folder, then change one variable at a time until the crash stops.
What causes MSFS 2020 to crash mid-flight?
The timing and location of the crash usually indicate which component to test first. A crash at the same geographical point suggests scenery, while a crash tied to one aircraft points towards that aircraft, its avionics or a missing dependency.
| Crash pattern | Likely area | Best first test |
|---|---|---|
| Same position on the same route | Airport, scenery, photogrammetry or rolling cache | Remove local scenery and repeat with online scenery disabled |
| Only one aircraft | Aircraft package, livery, avionics or WASM module | Fly the route in a stock aircraft |
| After a similar amount of flying time | RAM, VRAM, temperatures or unstable hardware | Reduce memory-heavy settings and monitor system stability |
| When approaching a detailed airport | VRAM pressure, airport scenery or duplicate packages | Use the stock airport and lower texture resolution and Terrain Level of Detail |
| PC restarts or shows a blue screen | Hardware, power, temperature or low-level driver fault | Return hardware to stock settings and inspect Windows system records |
How do I fix crashes during a flight?
The fastest reliable method is to reproduce the same flight under clean conditions and restore features individually. Randomly changing several settings may hide the fault without identifying it.
- Record the trigger. Note the aircraft, livery, departure and arrival airports, weather, flight phase, approximate location and elapsed time. Repeat the same route after each change so the results mean something.
- Establish a clean baseline. Close MSFS 2020 and move everything out of the
Communityfolder. If Safe Mode is offered after the crash, use it. Test a stock aircraft, stock airports, preset weather and no multiplayer or AI traffic. Safe Mode and an empty Community folder do not necessarily remove separately installed Marketplace content, so choose an aircraft included with the simulator. - Clear the rolling cache. Delete it through the simulator's Data settings and leave it disabled for the next test. Temporarily turn off photogrammetry, live weather and online traffic as well. If the flight then works, re-enable those features one at a time and create a new cache rather than restoring the old file.
- Isolate aircraft and scenery packages. Restore Community add-ons in small groups, testing between each group. Once a group causes the crash, split it again until one package remains. Check dependencies and remove obsolete liveries as well as the main add-on. For crashes limited to a complex cockpit, use our aircraft and WASM crash checks.
- Test the graphics path. Switch between DirectX 11 and DirectX 12, restarting the simulator after the change. Disable capture tools, performance overlays and GPU monitoring overlays. Update the graphics driver, or return to the previous working driver if the crashes began immediately after a driver change.
- Reduce resource pressure. Lower texture resolution, Terrain Level of Detail, Object Level of Detail and AI traffic for a repeat test. Close browsers and other memory-heavy programs. Keep the Windows paging file enabled and system-managed; disabling it can turn high memory use into a crash to desktop.
- Remove unstable tuning. Return user CPU and GPU overclocks or undervolts to stock settings, including aggressive RAM profiles. Check CPU and GPU temperatures under sustained load. MSFS can expose marginal settings that appear stable in lighter games.
- Repair only after clean testing fails. Update the simulator and its installed packages, then use the platform's repair or file-verification option. On Windows, try Repair before Reset because Reset can remove local simulator data. Back up the Community folder and identify the packages location before using destructive options. If the problem started with a simulator update, follow our steps for crashes that begin after an MSFS update.
A mistake we see constantly is restoring the entire Community folder after one successful test. Add packages gradually; otherwise, a single incompatible livery or duplicated airport can put the crash straight back.
How can I identify the actual crash cause?
A repeatable trigger and a Windows crash record are more useful than a generic exception code. Open Reliability Monitor for the crash timeline, then inspect the Application and System sections of Event Viewer at the matching time.
- A display-driver failure points towards the graphics driver, DirectX mode, an overlay, VRAM pressure or GPU instability.
- A WHEA hardware error points towards CPU, RAM, PCIe or other hardware stability rather than a damaged aircraft package.
- Kernel-Power records an unexpected shutdown but usually does not identify what caused it.
0xc0000005is a broad access-violation code. It does not prove that the RAM is faulty or that MSFS must be reinstalled.- A repeated third-party module or process gives a useful lead; remove or update the associated add-on before altering unrelated settings.
Why does MSFS 2020 crash with one aircraft or airport?
A crash limited to one aircraft or location is usually a content problem, not a reason to reinstall the whole simulator. Test the same route with a stock aircraft and then test the suspect aircraft from a simple stock airport.
If every aircraft crashes at the same coordinates, disable the destination airport, nearby scenery and regional mesh. Check for two packages covering the same airport. If only the complex aircraft fails, remove its liveries, confirm its required dependencies are installed, and reinstall that aircraft package rather than the complete simulator.
What if MSFS freezes instead of closing?
A frozen picture, looping sound or persistent Not Responding state is not the same failure as a crash to desktop. Cache corruption, scenery streaming and main-thread stalls are more prominent causes, so use our dedicated mid-flight freeze troubleshooting sequence instead.
How do I fix mid-flight crashes on Xbox?
On Xbox, focus on cached data, installed content and a repeatable stock flight because Windows logs, paging-file changes and PC graphics-driver tests do not apply.
- Fully quit MSFS 2020 rather than resuming it through Quick Resume, then restart the console.
- Delete the rolling cache from the simulator's Data settings and test without live traffic, multiplayer or photogrammetry.
- Use a stock aircraft and airport, then remove recently installed or updated Marketplace content.
- Keep adequate free internal storage and install pending simulator and content updates.
- Do not clear reserved space as the first remedy; doing so can remove installed simulator content and require a substantial download.