Why do Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and 2020 crash?

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and 2020 usually crash because of incompatible add-ons, damaged cache or package data, graphics-driver faults, unstable CPU, GPU or RAM tuning, exhausted memory or VRAM, or conflicting software. Test a default flight with third-party content removed and stock hardware settings, then restore one variable at a time.

Is this a simulator crash, freeze or aircraft failure?

A software crash closes Microsoft Flight Simulator, leaves it permanently unresponsive or returns a console to its home screen. A collision, overstress event or other in-simulator aircraft failure is different: MSFS remains open and displays the result.

A brief stutter while scenery loads is not necessarily a crash. If the application eventually recovers, investigate performance, memory and streaming load. If the whole PC blue-screens, freezes hard or restarts, suspect a low-level driver, RAM instability, temperature or power-delivery problem before blaming the simulator.

What does the timing of an MSFS crash tell you?

The point at which Microsoft Flight Simulator crashes is usually more useful than the absence of an error message. Most apparently random failures have a repeatable trigger, such as one aircraft, airport, weather state, online service or level of system load.

How do I stop Microsoft Flight Simulator from crashing?

The fastest reliable method is to establish one clean, repeatable test flight and change only one variable between runs.

1. Record the exact trigger and complete updates. Note the aircraft, livery, airport, weather, online features, flight phase and approximate point of failure. Fully restart the PC or console, then allow simulator, installed-content, operating-system and installation-platform updates to finish.

   If MSFS 2024 is not updating cleanly, follow our steps for checking and applying MSFS 2024 updates before diagnosing old package files.

2. Use the simulator’s Safe Mode. After an abnormal shutdown, MSFS may offer Safe Mode at the next launch. This is a diagnostic session that disables most third-party simulator content; it is not Windows Safe Mode.

   On PC, close MSFS and move every package outside the active Community folder. Do not put disabled packages in a subfolder inside Community, because the simulator may still scan them. The folder’s location varies with the installation platform and any custom packages path.

   Safe Mode does not stop every external utility or overlay. Emptying Community also does not rule out Marketplace and other optional packages, which may need to be disabled through the simulator’s content controls.

3. Create a simple baseline flight. Use a default aircraft and livery, a small default airport, clear preset weather and daytime conditions. Disable live traffic, multiplayer, photogrammetry and VR temporarily. If the flight works, restore online services, aircraft, scenery and VR separately rather than all at once.

4. Return PC hardware to stock settings. Remove CPU and GPU overclocks or undervolts and temporarily disable XMP or EXPO memory profiles. MSFS stresses the processor, graphics card and memory together, so tuning that survives other games can still fail during a long flight.

   Check temperatures, power stability and free storage. If stock settings stop the crashes, treat the tuning, cooling or hardware stability as the fault rather than concealing it by lowering an unrelated simulator option.

5. Stabilise the graphics driver. Install pending Windows updates and an appropriate GPU driver. If crashes began immediately after a driver update, return to the previous stable release; otherwise use the driver’s clean-install option instead of repeatedly installing over the existing package.

   Clearing the PC shader cache after a driver change can help when stale compiled data is involved. Expect temporary stuttering while shaders rebuild.

   In MSFS 2020, test DirectX 11 if DirectX 12 is selected, especially when an error says the graphics device was removed or hung. MSFS 2024 does not provide the same DirectX 11 fallback.

6. Close software that hooks into MSFS. Shut down recording overlays, frame counters, monitoring tools, third-party frame limiters, frame-generation injectors, RGB and motherboard suites, camera tools, controller remappers and companion applications. Disconnect non-essential USB devices while retaining the controls needed for the test.

7. Reset cached and online data. Delete the rolling cache through the simulator’s data settings, restart MSFS and leave the cache disabled for a short test. A stale cache can reproduce a location-specific crash even after suspect scenery has been removed.

   Test preset weather, offline traffic, no multiplayer and no photogrammetry. Restore each service in a fresh session so a transient online problem is not confused with damaged local files. Do not delete the main Official, streamed-content or installed-package directories while attempting a cache reset.

8. Preserve memory and VRAM headroom. Lower Texture Resolution when VRAM is tight, Terrain and Object Level of Detail when dense scenery is the trigger, and traffic or cockpit-display demand in CPU-heavy situations. Reducing render scaling can ease GPU load, while a frame-rate cap may help when the graphics card remains at maximum utilisation.

   Disable frame generation during diagnosis and keep adequate free space on the Windows and simulator drives. Do not disable the Windows page file; a system-managed page file is the safest troubleshooting baseline.

9. Inspect the crash evidence. On PC, use Reliability Monitor and Event Viewer to look for a faulting module, driver or exception that repeats across several crashes. Our walk-through for finding and interpreting MSFS crash records explains which entries are useful and which are generic Windows reports.

10. Repair or verify the installation. Use the repair or verification function supplied by the platform through which MSFS was installed. Back up the Community folder and note any custom package location first, because verification may trigger a large package check or reacquisition.

    Verification may not inspect every separately downloaded or streamed package. Do not move arbitrary files out of the Official folder as if it were another Community folder; remove or reinstall optional packages through the simulator’s content controls so their installation state remains tracked.

How can I identify which add-on is crashing MSFS?

A half-split test, also called a binary search, isolates a faulty add-on much faster than restoring packages individually.

1. Preserve the failing test. Use the same aircraft, livery, airport, route, weather and flight phase every time.
2. Move every package outside Community. Do this while MSFS is closed, then confirm that the exact crash no longer occurs.
3. Restore approximately half the packages. If the crash returns, the suspect is in that half; if the flight remains stable, test the other half.
4. Keep dividing the failing group. Continue until one aircraft, livery, scenery package, utility or shared library remains.
5. Check compatibility and dependencies. Confirm the package supports the simulator version and inspect its required avionics libraries, object libraries and folder structure.

A mistake we see constantly is restoring every aircraft and scenery package after one successful menu launch. Complete the flight phase that previously failed. Do not copy an entire MSFS 2020 Community folder into MSFS 2024 and assume every package remains compatible.

Do not test only the main aircraft while leaving an old livery, sound replacement, panel modification or shared avionics library installed. If the crash occurs while selecting or loading an aircraft, use our aircraft-selection crash checks for MSFS 2024 to isolate liveries, shared avionics, streamed content and damaged models.

A crash triggered when avionics or another aircraft system starts can involve WebAssembly content. Our WASM add-on troubleshooting steps cover aircraft modules and shared dependencies that need separate testing.

Why does MSFS crash with one aircraft, airport or location?

A failure tied to one aircraft or location usually indicates damaged content, a dependency problem or a package conflict rather than a broken base installation.

What should I test when one aircraft crashes?

Remove that aircraft’s liveries, sound and panel modifications, plus utilities that connect specifically to it. Update the aircraft and all required dependencies together, then test it at a small default airport.

Cross-test with another default aircraft. If the suspect aircraft fails everywhere, investigate its package and dependencies; if each aircraft works alone but not with one particular airport, suspect package interaction or insufficient memory and VRAM headroom.

What should I test when one airport or geographical point crashes?

Disable every package covering the airport and surrounding area, including duplicate airport versions, regional enhancements, object libraries, old aerial imagery and overlapping scenery. Clear the rolling cache, restart MSFS and test the default airport before restoring the suspect package without other local scenery.

Fly a default aircraft at the suspect airport, then the suspect aircraft at a small default airport. If only the location fails, investigate scenery; if both work separately but crash together, reduce memory demand and check for package conflicts.

Why does MSFS crash at large airports, after take-off or in VR?

Crashes limited to dense areas or demanding display modes usually indicate rising CPU, GPU, RAM or VRAM demand rather than damaged core simulator files.

• Texture Resolution and high-resolution aircraft or airport textures increase VRAM use.
• Terrain and Object Level of Detail raise CPU demand and the amount of scenery held or processed.
• AI and live traffic add aircraft models, airport activity and CPU load.
• Render scaling and resolution increase GPU load, especially with multiple displays or VR.
• Third-party airports can combine dense geometry, large textures and custom modules in one location.

Change one setting group at a time and repeat the same flight. A frame-rate cap can reduce sustained GPU load, but it will not repair a faulty airport package or unstable overclock.

If MSFS crashes specifically while entering or leaving VR, test without overlays, frame generation and companion utilities. Confirm the headset software and OpenXR runtime are functioning, lower VR resolution and texture demand, and reproduce the transition with a default aircraft at a simple airport.

Why does MSFS crash only with live weather or online data?

A crash that disappears with preset weather and online services disabled usually involves cached data, a transient service problem, network software or an add-on conflict.

Test live weather, live traffic, multiplayer and photogrammetry one at a time across fresh sessions. If MSFS remains stable offline, the core installation is less likely to be damaged. Leave the failing service disabled and retest later before changing unrelated drivers or reinstalling the simulator; reinstalling cannot correct a remote service failure.

What do MSFS crash messages and logs actually mean?

Crash records provide clues, but one exception code or Windows module rarely proves the root cause.

“Your last session ended unexpectedly” means only that the previous simulator process did not close normally. Choose Safe Mode after an unexplained crash to desktop. Normal Mode is reasonable if you deliberately ended the process or know the interruption came from a power cut or system restart.

The error 0xc0000005 is a general memory-access violation, not proof that physical RAM is faulty. It can result from an add-on, driver, unstable overclock or memory problem. Entries naming ntdll.dll, KERNELBASE.dll or the simulator executable are often the final point of failure rather than the original cause.

A report that repeatedly names the same GPU driver, add-on module or external utility is more useful. If the named module changes from crash to crash under heavy load, test temperatures, memory stability, power delivery and stock clock settings before reinstalling MSFS. A graphics-device removed or hung message points more directly towards the GPU driver, graphics API, GPU tuning or VRAM usage.

How do I stop MSFS crashing on Xbox or PlayStation?

Console troubleshooting follows the same clean-content principle but omits PC-only driver, Community folder, overclock, crash-log and page-file steps.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 remains a PC and Xbox title and was never released on PlayStation.

1. Fully quit the simulator. Do not rely on a resumed or suspended session; perform a complete console restart before testing again.
2. Complete every update. Allow console, simulator and installed-content updates to finish before loading a flight.
3. Reset cached and online data. Clear the rolling cache and test without live weather, multiplayer, traffic and photogrammetry.
4. Remove recent optional content. Disable or uninstall newly added aircraft, liveries and airports through the simulator’s content controls.
5. Run a simple default flight. Use a default aircraft at a small default airport to establish a baseline.
6. Check free storage. Very limited space can interfere with updates, packages and temporary data.
7. Reinstall only the suspect package first. Test optional content separately before reinstalling the entire simulator.

Avoid deleting cloud-synchronised save data as an early troubleshooting step because it may remove control mappings, logbook data, progress or other settings.

Should I reinstall Microsoft Flight Simulator?

A full reinstall is justified only when MSFS still crashes in a clean state after repair, driver, cache, add-on and hardware-stability checks have failed.

Consider reinstalling when:

• platform repair or verification repeatedly reports or fails to correct damaged files;
• an interrupted update leaves packages that cannot be repaired or removed normally;
• the simulator crashes with default content, stock hardware settings and no external utilities;
• the package location or its permissions appear damaged.

A platform uninstall may leave downloaded packages, the Community folder or synchronised settings behind. MSFS 2020 also separates its launcher from the much larger package installation, so removing the launcher alone may not create a clean baseline.

Move third-party content aside and note any custom package location before uninstalling. Do not casually delete cloud-synchronised profile data. Test the new installation before restoring add-ons; if the crash returns only after old content is restored, the fault is in a package, dependency or utility rather than the clean simulator.