Definition
A unique code, name, or alphanumeric string used by an aircraft navigation system or flight management system to recognize and retrieve a specific item from its onboard navigation database, such as a waypoint, airport, navaid, airway, or procedure.
Plain English
A short code the navigation computer uses to find a specific place, route, or procedure stored in its memory.
Context Anchor
Seen when using a GPS, flight management system, electronic chart, or navigation database to select an airport, waypoint, route, or procedure.
Derivation
Database means an organized collection of stored information. Identifier comes from identify, meaning to show exactly what something is. In aviation, the term points to the exact label that separates one stored item from all the others.
Why Pilots Care
Entering the correct database identifier is how a pilot loads the right waypoint, approach, or route into the navigation system. A wrong or mistyped identifier can pull up a similarly named point hundreds of miles away, leading to navigation errors.
Analogy
It is like a license plate for an item in the database: the name may look similar to others, but the identifier points to one specific item.
Intuition Check
Do not assume a database identifier is always the full plain-language name of a place. It is often a shortened code or letter-number label used by the system.
Example Sentence 1
The pilot entered the database identifier for the destination airport into the GPS to load the arrival procedure.
Example Sentence 2
Each airport in the navigation database has its own unique identifier used for routing.