I am seeing a trend in the fact that alot of persons are viewing the mask on the forehead as the primary sign that a person is in distress. This is a problem in much the same way that seeing everyone who has their eyes closed as being unconscious. I have been in lifeguard/water rescue training for over 20 years and the only distressed divers I have seen with mask on forehead were those who made the desperate attempt to completely remove it and it lodged on the forehead. A distressed person (in the truest water rescue sense of the term) is one who can continue to think on a rational basis and maintains the ability to breathe and support themselves (to varying degrees) in the water. If this distress continues to the point where the airway is compromised then efforts by the diver are made in maintaining an airway. This could reach the point where the instinctive drowning response initiates. The diver loses rational thought and their arms are pressing down trying simply to lift the head above water. I have seen a distressed/drowning diver with mask on forehead but it was simply because repeated attempts to remove it failed.
All of this to simply state that mask on forehead is insignificant compared to other characteristics displayed by a distressed/active drowning diver.
All of this to simply state that mask on forehead is insignificant compared to other characteristics displayed by a distressed/active drowning diver.