I’m 100% it has to do with authentication. I know how to replicate this issue, if you disconnect your network, start the sim, it will complain about authentication and ask to go in offline mode. If you allow it, it will start up. Close it and do it again, it will probably ask for a DVD. If you do it again it will crash or have all planes missing. After this restore network connection. Now it CTD’s every time.
To fix it you have keep trying to start it, after many tries you will get the menu with marketplace disabled go to your account top right and it will show “offline” even though it is online. Now go to setup, options, data and turn online functionality on/off and apply settings, do it couple of times back-n-forth. Turn multiplayer option on and off few times and this will kick it back to online status, wait a bit and the marketplace will re-enable and no more CTD’s from here on.
From what I understand the game has a hard time syncing back online to verify your account and get decryption data etc, if one tries to start it without a network connection.
It takes too long to sync but the problem is, it disables itself before it can do that and kills the process. That crash is not a normal process crash(CTD) it is authentication related.
Anything that can make the game re-sync with your acct will help, that is why even deleting some temp files and other data might help. But in my case I fixed with brute force by keep trying until the game held the dash long enough to reauth and for me to access the menus. I hope this makes sense, it is weird but that is why this is happening.(my observations)