Dozens of pilots have reported near-misses and other problems on the Newark Liberty International Airport approach where United Flight 169 smashed into a truck this weekend, putting hundreds of lives at risk.

Years of confidential reports submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration detail problems with “Stadium Visual Rwy 29” — a notoriously difficult and dangerous landing route, known for its irregularities and potential hazards.

“I believe a midair collision is imminent,” one pilot wrote last year in the FAA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System, specifically referencing Stadium Visual Rwy 29 in a desperate plea for the airport to update safety protocols.

That approach is infamous for a sharp, 70-degree turn, an unusually short runway, nonstandard guidance lights, and other challenges, said Robert Joslin, former FAA’s chief scientific and technical advisor.

Joslin said veering to the right of the runway — as United 169 appears to have done — puts passenger planes right over New Jersey Turnpike traffic.

“If you undershoot it, then you’re out there in the Wild West,” Joslin, who is now a professor at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told The Post.

Pilots reported receiving sudden low altitude and obstacle warnings and getting thrown off course by the jet blasts of nearby aircraft.

Many reported losing sight of the critical “PAPI” lights that guide planes to the runway.

“We were … listening to the Air Traffic Control chatter and also trying to follow the aircraft in front of us and find the runway, which was very difficult to see with all the lights coming from that direction,” wrote one pilot.

“I lost sight of the runway in the sea of lights and ended up right of the final approach path by maybe 1500′ to 2000′,” reported another.

More complained of confusing instructions from air traffic control.

“ATC communication failure is a grave threat to safe operations at EWR,” said the aforementioned pilot who warned of impending disaster.

“Company management is using the insufficient procedures that always exist as a shield instead of facing this reality in order to provide better guidance or establish new protocol,” the complaint reads.

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The driver of a bakery truck looks up as United Flight 169 comes in for a botched landing at Newark Liberty International Airport this weekend.H&S Family of Bakeries

Aircraft have to maintain a certain angle to safely land on runway 29 — the airport’s shortest landing strip at around 6,700 feet — and they must maintain an altitude of exactly 500 feet.

Making matters worse, the orientation lights (“PAPI lights”) are on the right side of the runway, which is less common and can be “confusing” for pilots who aren’t expecting it, Joslin explained.

Normally, pilots use an “instrument approach” to land on the runway, but if air traffic is high, a pilot can request a “visual approach,” in which they guide the plane by sight.

Visual approaches are faster and more efficient, but they are also more challenging and rely on the skill and experience of the pilot.

Dozens of pilots have filed complaints about Stadium Visual Rwy 29 on the FAA’s confidential reporting system.

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The plane hit a light pole.

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The accident was caught on dashcam video.H&S Family of Bakeries
Joslin insisted the approach is perfectly safe if a pilot does everything right.21

He also wouldn’t speculate on what, exactly, went wrong.

“There’s always extenuating circumstances, and we’re not privy to those yet,” he said.