"It's an eye-opener for those who have to travel in a helicopter regularly, but pilots are aware of these risks all the time," Mr Garden (65) said.
Mr Garden, who has been flying for 37 years, ditched his helicopter in Foveaux Strait in 1980 while unloading a ferry.
"I was lucky. It was only me and the door was off, so it was easy," Mr Garden said.
While there was no such thing as underwater training in those days, pilots and crew now had to complete the course every two years and it "brought home" to them the importance of properly briefing their passengers, he said.
The training, which had been brought in after fatal accidents in the North Sea involving helicopters transporting people to oil rigs, had been shown to reduce fatalities, he said.
Otago Regional Council hydrology staff took part in the underwater escape training as part of the council's plans to implement new technology allowing it to monitor floodwaters from helicopters.
ORC regional services director Jeff Donaldson said that, as staff were going to be sampling rivers in flood from a helicopter in adverse weather conditions, it was important that they were prepared for all eventualities.
Helicopters Otago, which organised the training, required ORC staff using their helicopters to be trained to the same standard as its crews, he said.
