Played The Piano At Lambert International Airport While Snow And Sleet Cancelled Flights

Passengers trying to make it out of St. Louis' Lambert International Airport Thursday were frustrated and tired as they sat in the terminal while a winter storm made the possibility of them getting to their destinations less and less likely. Snow and sleet were coating the runways and taxiways, and the number of flights showing "cancelled" on the board continued to grow.

And since he couldn't be sitting in the cockpit of his airplane, United Express pilot Billy Hock took control of the piano in Terminal 1, performing an impromptu concert of his original compositions that lasted about three hours, according to television station KSDK.

Capt. Hock entertained about 1,700 stranded passengers, crewmembers, and airport workers ... sitting at the piano still dressed in his white uniform shirt with four stripes on the shoulder. He played while flights all around the central U.S. went from "delayed" to "cancelled" on departure and arrival boards at the airport.

Airport operations returned to normal the Friday morning.

FMI: www.united.com, www.flystl.com