Why does MSFS 2024 crash when I select an aircraft, and how do I fix it?

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (MSFS 2024) usually crashes when you select an aircraft because that aircraft, a livery, shared avionics, a WASM module or streamed package data is damaged or incompatible. Test a default aircraft and livery in Safe Mode; if every aircraft crashes, investigate updates, content delivery, drivers, memory and system stability.

What does the timing of the aircraft crash reveal?

The last screen shown before the crash identifies which part of MSFS 2024 was loading.

On Windows, a crash to desktop — often described as вылет на рабочий стол — only means the process closed unexpectedly; it does not identify the cause. A report such as “game crashed” or “nee, werkt niet” (“no, it does not work”) becomes useful once you record the aircraft, livery, airport and exact loading stage.

How do I fix MSFS 2024 crashing at aircraft selection?

A controlled baseline test is the quickest way to separate an aircraft fault from a simulator-wide problem.

1. Finish all updates and restart. Install available simulator, platform and content updates, then reboot the PC or console. Sim Update 5 was released in April 2026, so an installation that has not reached that build is missing later package and compatibility changes.
2. Establish a stock baseline. Use an aircraft included with your edition, its default livery, clear weather and an unmodified airport. Do not begin with a complex airliner at a detailed third-party hub.
3. Accept Safe Mode if it is offered. After an abnormal shutdown, MSFS may offer Safe Mode on the next launch. If the aircraft works there, third-party content or an external integration is the likely trigger. Safe Mode is a diagnostic test, not a repair.
4. Remove every optional livery. A mistake we see constantly is testing the aircraft “with default” while an enhancement package, cockpit mod or livery manager remains active. Use the actual default livery and disable all packages that alter that model.
5. Empty the Community folder on PC. Move everything out of Community rather than deleting it. Restart MSFS, test, then restore packages in halves until the crash returns. This binary-search method isolates a large add-on collection much faster than checking files individually.
6. Check content-library packages separately. Emptying Community does not necessarily disable aircraft, liveries or dependencies installed through the simulator’s content system. Disable or remove the suspect items there as well.
7. Reinstall only the suspect package. Remove its local installation where the content controls allow it, restart the simulator and download or stream a clean copy. Confirm that the aircraft explicitly supports MSFS 2024 rather than assuming an MSFS 2020 aircraft is compatible.
8. Change one variable at a time. Test the problem aircraft at a basic airport, then test a simple aircraft at the original airport. If the crash happens only after pressing Fly, use our checks for crashes while Free Flight is loading to separate aircraft, scenery, cache and streaming faults.

Do not copy an entire MSFS 2020 Community folder into MSFS 2024. Older aircraft using compiled gauges, custom installers, external programs or outdated shared libraries can fail even when their models and textures appear normally.

What should I try on Xbox or on the PS5?

On Xbox Series X|S, PS5 and PS5 Pro, troubleshoot through the simulator’s content library because consoles have no user-accessible Community folder.

MSFS 2024 launched on Xbox Series X|S on 19 November 2024 and on PS5 and PS5 Pro on 8 December 2025. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 was never released on PlayStation, so PlayStation advice applies only to MSFS 2024.

• Fully close the simulator and restart it. Returning to the Xbox dashboard or PS5 home screen is not the same as terminating the running session.
• Install pending simulator, console and aircraft-content updates.
• Remove or disable the suspect aircraft and its liveries through the in-simulator library, restart, then reinstall it.
• Test an included aircraft with its default livery before restoring purchased or third-party content.
• Power-cycle the console after changing installed content, particularly if the same failed session keeps returning.

If included aircraft work but one add-on does not, check that the aircraft supports the exact console platform. Availability on PC or Xbox does not guarantee PlayStation compatibility, and the reverse is also true.

Why does it still crash with a default Airbus or Boeing?

A default Airbus or Boeing livery can rule out optional paint files, but it does not prove that the aircraft package, avionics or streamed data is healthy.

• If one exact model crashes, reinstall that aircraft and remove all enhancements made for it.
• If several aircraft from one family crash, inspect shared avionics, common libraries and family-wide livery packages.
• If both Airbus and Boeing airliners crash but a basic included propeller aircraft works, suspect WASM initialisation, high memory or VRAM demand, or a shared cockpit component.
• If every aircraft class crashes, stop reinstalling individual aircraft and investigate the simulator, content delivery, driver and hardware.

Complex airliners place a much heavier load on cockpit systems, glass displays, textures and memory than a basic trainer. That difference is diagnostically useful; it does not by itself prove that the Airbus or Boeing model is defective.

When is WASM the likely cause?

WASM is a strong suspect when the aircraft can be selected normally but the simulator closes as cockpit instruments and systems initialise.

First remove liveries, avionics replacements and aircraft enhancements, then test at a basic airport. If a simple aircraft loads at the same location, follow our WASM isolation and repair procedure instead of reinstalling the whole simulator.

Why is MSFS 24 still crashing when nothing was changed?

“Nothing was changed” does not rule out an update, a failed streamed download, stale cache data or a driver change outside the simulator.

• An aircraft, shared library or simulator package may have updated automatically.
• Streamed aircraft data may be incomplete even though the aircraft tile still appears.
• A graphics driver, operating-system update or console system update may have changed.
• The rolling cache, if enabled, may contain stale data; delete and recreate it through the simulator’s settings while MSFS is not loading a flight.
• An overclock, undervolt or aggressive memory profile may fail only when a complex cockpit raises CPU, GPU and RAM load.

On PC, disable overlays, frame-generation injectors, monitoring tools and external aircraft utilities for the test. Return CPU, GPU and memory settings to stock, close memory-heavy applications, leave the Windows paging file system-managed and reduce texture demand if complex aircraft exhaust VRAM.

If every included aircraft is still crashing in Safe Mode, use our full checklist for simulator-wide random crashes, including file repair, drivers, memory, conflicting software and hardware stability.

What if MSFS 2024 does not enter the menu?

If by “no entra al menu” you mean the simulator never reaches its main menu, the selected aircraft is not the trigger because aircraft loading has not begun.

Treat that as a start-up, account, network or sign-in problem. Fully restart the simulator and platform, confirm the correct account is signed in and work through the dedicated start-up and sign-in crash checks.

When should I reinstall the whole simulator?

A complete reinstall is justified only after included aircraft also fail in Safe Mode, add-ons are disabled, updates are complete and the platform’s file repair or verification has not helped.

Reinstalling too early can waste hours without removing the cause. A separate Community folder, synchronised content or automatically restored library package may survive the reinstall and reproduce the same crash as soon as it is enabled again.