THE boss of Brighton Palace Pier is so confident about its safety that her own grandchildren were back on the rides yesterday.

Anne Ackord showed her faith in the structure after one ride broke apart mid-flight on Monday.

A teenager was taken to hospital after part of a pod fell off the Air Race ride at the end of the pier and flew into him, injuring his leg.

Another child told of the nightmare moment he feared for his life as he spent 45 seconds on the ride waiting for it to be stopped following the drama.

Yesterday, pier chief executive Ms Ackord insisted she and employees are “100 per cent happy” that everything had been done to ensure safety on the pier’s rides.

She said: “My grandchildren were on that ride on Monday and they are back on the rides now without hesitation.

“All rides are checked thoroughly by external examiners, not just our own staff.

“The incident seems random and could take months until we find out.

“We will do a full investigation, as will the HSE.”

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which is the regulator aiming to prevent workplace death or injury, has confirmed it has launched an investigation.

The Air Race ride spins vertically and horizontally and each seat has a section designed to look like an aeroplane underneath.

One of these aeroplanes came loose and fell off as the ride was in action on Monday afternoon.

The ride was closed to the public yesterday but others remained open.

Ms Ackord said two senior engineers from the ride’s manufacturer, an Italian company called Zamperla, were travelling to inspect the ride.

She said: “We are confident the rides are safe and we will not keep things secret.

“On Saturday, 60,000 people visited the pier in one day and our whole team worked hard to make it a safe and happy time.

“We don’t know what happened to the ride yet and it will remain closed until further notice while we await the results of investigations.”

Police and other emergency services rushed to the scene at 3pm on Monday after they received a report a ride on the pier had failed.

One teenager “wincing in pain” was taken to hospital on a stretcher after being hit by the part of the ride.