The company, Black Sheep Adventures, trading as Mad Dog River Surfing, and its managing director, Brad McLeod, are defending three charges each under section 50 of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 which relate to "practicable steps" which could have, if not prevented the incident, changed its outcome, prosecuting Maritime New Zealand counsell Brent Stanaway said in his opening address.
He said the three guides on the excursion were not carrying a throw-bag and rope, considered essential under the Swiftwater Rescue Standards, as they believed the rope could create an entanglement hazard once it was in the water.
However, Mr Stanaway said a knife could be used to cut the rope should that happen.
He said on April 29, 2008, Ms Jordan and her boyfriend, Jonny Armour, were in a group of 10 Mad Dog River Boarding customers who paid to body-board down the Kawarau River gorge on modified body-boards.
They safely negotiated one set of rapids.
They then approached a rapid known as Frogz Eddy, which is marked by a protruding rock.
The group were instructed to "kick hard" as they approached and to swim to the right.
But Ms Jordan and another tourist were swept to the left and although the other woman was swept into a narrow chute, Ms Jordan became trapped, head first, on the rock.
It took about 30 seconds for the head guide to reach her, and he saw her hand waving above the water.
That stopped shortly after he began trying to free her by pulling on a wrist strap which connected Ms Jordan to the board.
The two other guides soon joined the rescue effort, but it was not until a group from another company arrived with a rope to tie around Ms Jordan that she was finally freed and emergency services called.
The whole rescue took about 20 minutes and despite CPR being performed on the river bank and the arrival of an ambulance, Ms Jordan was pronounced dead at 2.23pm.
Mr Stanaway said the rock was normally submerged in "average" river flow conditions of 216 cubic metres of water per second (cumecs). "However, on this day the flows were only 84cumecs, so more of the rock was exposed," Mr Stanaway said.
He said there had not been a full safety briefing which had warned river-boarding customers there was a risk of becoming trapped under water and if that happened there was a chance of not surviving.
Instead, there was a waiver of indemnity which customers signed.
The six charges were brought by Maritime New Zealand with each conviction carrying a maximum fine of $250,000.
The hearing was expected to continue through the week.
