Gabriel was flying to North Carolina Friday for a gig at Harrah's Cherokee Event Center. We're told weather was really bad and the pilot apparently overshot the spot where the wheels were supposed to touch down.

He tells TMZ after they touched down the reverse thrusters somehow failed, and the plane continued down the runway at a high rate of speed, going into the grass for the length of a football field.

The comedian says as the plane was on final approach there was horrible turbulence ... he says it was so bad he hit his head on the ceiling of the plane.

Everyone was safe -- 6 passengers, 2 pilots and 2 chihuahuas, but it was terrifying. Gabriel says, "As we were going down we were picturing a scene from 'Almost Famous' where everyone felt they were going to die. We all told each other, 'We love you!' thinking it was the end."

And get this ... as they were traveling on the grass, blades of the grass were hitting the window. Gabriel said, "It looked like someone was cutting the grass. It was crazy!"