WASHINGTON (KMOX) – Senator Claire McCaskill says in this day and age, there doesn’t seem to be any legitimate reason for making airline passengers turn off their phones and tablets once the plane starts taxing for takeoff.

The Missouri Democrat has put her concerns into a sharply-worded letter mailed this week to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) head Michael Huerta, suggesting rules against operating electronic devices in flight are outdated and unnecessary.

“It is clear to me, and doing the researcher that any scientific basis for not allowing people to read the paper on an electronic device while they fly is very very weak,” McCaskill told reports Wednesday on a conference call.

She says pilots are now using I-Pads in the cockpit so obviously they’re not a danger to passenger safety.

In the letter McCaskill fells the FAA chief that if he doesn’t do something to loosen those restrictions, she’ll try to get it done through the legislative process.

McCaskill is a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.