diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/commands/build_aot.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/commands/build_aot.dart
index 2d9fe924c9..2f093fec46 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/commands/build_aot.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/commands/build_aot.dart
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ class BuildAotCommand extends BuildSubCommand {
           extraFrontEndOptions: argResults[FlutterOptions.kExtraFrontEndOptions],
         );
         if (mainPath == null) {
-          printError('Compiler terminated unexpectedly.');
+          throwToolExit('Compiler terminated unexpectedly.');
           return;
         }
       }