Daniels has chance to start for Commanders vs. Colts in London despite elbow injury, Quinn says

WATFORD, England (AP) — Ten days after dislocating his left elbow, Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was back on the practice field wearing a brace and a smile.

Could he actually start against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium? Maybe.

Washington coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday it’s “too early to call” if Daniels, who was injured in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys, would return after missing last week's game against the Seattle Seahawks.

“But as we’re working through the week, he’ll get more reps,” Quinn said at a news conference after the team arrived in the U.K. “As we get into Thursday and Friday, we’ll see what that load looks like.

“By Friday we’ll have a definite determination of where we’re at,” Quinn continued. “Until then, we’ll work and start the process, but it would be too early to call.”

Marcus Mariota started last week and threw three touchdown passes in the 33-31 win over defending champion Seattle.

The Commanders' session Wednesday was described by Quinn as a light “jog-through” not in pads. Were it a regular practice, Daniels would have officially been “limited,” the coach explained.

Daniels did some light footwork and passing drills, as well as taking snaps under center and simulating a handoff with the ball in his left, non-throwing hand — all with a big, restrictive brace holding his elbow at an angle.

It's the second elbow dislocation for Daniels, who missed most of the second half of last season with the same injury.

“Any athlete would probably tell you when you are going through something a second time, there’s a known of what the road looks like," Quinn said. "We just don’t know yet.

“We’re not going to put him out there before he’s ready,” he continued. “Him being back on the field is like, man that’s a good step for us, and then we’ll take it from there.”

The Colts beat the Houston Texans 19-17 on Sunday, ending a nine-game losing streak.

Sunday’s game offers another contrast in the sports science debate about when to arrive in a country for an international game.

The Commanders are in town two days before the Colts — a significant but not huge difference.

A year ago, the Los Angeles Rams landed in London just 30 hours before kickoff against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who had arrived Tuesday of that week. The Rams then routed the Jags 35-7 at Wembley Stadium.

The Rams took a similar approach for their season opener in Melbourne, Australia, against the San Francisco 49ers, who choose to go Down Under a week in advance. The Niners prevailed 27-7.

NFL teams typically stay in fancy hotels located far from central London. The Commanders are at The Grove, a luxury hotel 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of the city, and it includes a practice field.

If Quinn or his players get bored with football, they can book horse riding lessons, pumpkin picking or an afternoon tea. Tiger Woods won an event at the hotel's golf course in 2006. They could also do a tour at the nearby Warner Bros. Studio.

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Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) speaks to the media following NFL football practice in London, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5), takes part in a NFL Football practice session in London, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5), throws a pass during a NFL Football practice session in London, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn speaks to the media before NFL football practice in London, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5), prepares to throw during a NFL Football practice session in London, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) takes part in NFL football practice in London, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) passes the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026 in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn during the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026 in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Trainers attend to Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) after an apparent injury in the first half against the Dallas Cowboys during an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jessica Tobias)

One pilot stabbed another and attempted to crash a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel, according to Israel's prime minister.

Passengers, many of them Israelis, feared for their lives as the FlyDubai aircraft lost half its altitude in about a minute.

As Israel scrambled fighter jets out of concern for a possible hijacking, a passenger and crew member broke into the cockpit to subdue the attacker and other crew members gained control of the aircraft, which landed safely in Saudi Arabia.

It was not clear what motivated Wednesday's attack.

The terrifying flight occurred just days before the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that launched the war in Gaza. It has rekindled anxieties about airline security and focused attention on an unsettling question: Are pilots a significant threat to the flying public's safety?

Here’s what we know — and don’t know — about what happened on FlyDubai flight FZ1073:

The distress call came at 8:44 a.m. local time, about two and a half hours after the flight with about 170 passengers left Dubai and headed to Tel Aviv.

The captain and first officer had been fighting in the cockpit after one tried to stab the other and crash the aircraft, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The aircraft swiftly lost altitude — dropping from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet (around 10,000 meters to 5,100 meters) in the span of about a minute. It then circled close to the Jordanian border before landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, about an hour later.

Both pilots suffered injuries that required hospital treatment, according to a statement from Tabuk's Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport. Netanyahu said Saudi Arabia had arrested one of the pilots.

A plane carrying passengers from the flight landed Wednesday evening in Israel.

A passenger and a crew member managed to break into the cockpit, enabling other crew members to enter and fly the plane to a safe landing, according to Netanyahu, who cited a passenger he had spoken to.

The cockpit door on all aircraft is locked during flight for security reasons — a measure that became the industry standard after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, in which hijackers broke into the cockpits of four domestic flights in the United States.

It's unclear how the passenger and crew managed to get into the FlyDubai cockpit since aircraft doors are reinforced to withstand attempts to break them down.

One question surrounding this incident is how anyone on the aircraft — even a pilot — was able to get a knife onboard. It's unclear how big the knife was that was used in the attack.

Pilots undergo rigorous screening, including passing through metal detectors, at checkpoints at all airports. It's also standard for airlines to vet their pilots' background for criminal and employment history, their physical and mental health, as well as having them undergo intelligence and security screening.

Israel has some of the most stringent airline security measures worldwide. Passengers on Israel-bound flights regularly are taken aside for questioning and baggage searches after passing through normal airport security. It's uncertain whether the pilots of the FlyDubai flight had been screened as vigorously.

There have been extremely rare occasions when airline security protocols fail. In 2015, the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 locked the captain out of the cockpit and deliberately set the plane on a collision course with a mountainside, killing all 150 people aboard.

Passengers embark on a FlyDubai aircraft at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Holding balloons people wait for the arrival of passengers at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A FlyDubai aircraft carrying Israelis who experienced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)