A B747 CREW RETURNED TO LAND WITH A REVERSER IN-TRANSIT LIGHT LOGGED BUT THEY FAILED TO ALSO LOG THE ENG SHUTDOWN EVENT AS THEIR ACR REQUIRED.

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AFTER A 35 MIN DEP DELAY DUE TO ACFT LOADING; WE TAXIED TO RWY 17R FOR DEP. IT WAS MY LEG. ALL CHKLISTS WERE RUN AND NO DELAY WAS ENCOUNTERED PRIOR TO TAKING THE RWY. WE HAD BRIEFED AND UTILIZED THE AUTOTHROTTLES FOR TKOF. DURING THE TKOF ROLL; IN THE HIGH-SPD REGIME (APPROX 100 KTS) THE FO AND SO SIMULTANEOUSLY ADVISED THAT THE #1 THRUST REVERSER IN-TRANSIT LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. I RESPONDED THAT THE ACFT WAS TRACKING NORMALLY AND THAT THE TKOF WOULD BE CONTINUED. A NORMAL DEP WAS ACCOMPLISHED. I ADVISED THE CREW THAT AFTER FLAP RETRACTION I WOULD XFER CTL TO THE FO AND WORK THE PROB WITH THE SO. WE CONTINUED THE NORMAL CLB PROFILE TOWARD DEST WHILE ACCOMPLISHING THE APPROPRIATE CHKLIST. THE ACFT WAS NOT EXHIBITING ADVERSE YAW AND WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE FLASHING IN-TRANSIT LIGHT; ALL ENG INDICATIONS WERE NORMAL. DUE TO THE FACT THAT THIS LIGHT IS DESIGNED TO ALERT THE CREW OF MOVEMENT OF THE REVERSER SLEEVE; WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES SHOULD THE SLEEVE FULLY TRANSLATE. AS A PRECAUTION I ELECTED TO REDUCE THRUST ON THE #1 ENG TO 1.00 EPR WHILE WE CONTINUED TO DISCUSS OUR OPTIONS. I ASKED THE SO TO CONTACT FLT CTL AND ADVISE THEM OF OUR SITUATION. A RPT FROM FLT CTL INDICATED THAT THIS CALL CAME AT 7 MINS INTO THE FLT. THE SO INFORMED FLT CTL OF OUR REVERSER IN-TRANSIT LIGHT AS WELL AS ANOTHER ABNORMAL LIGHT INDICATION ON THE LOWER EQUIP BAY ELECTRICAL ABNORMALITIES. CLRLY; THE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS HAD THUS FAR FAILED TO RESOLVE THE PROB. MAINT CTL SUGGESTED THAT THE INDICATION WAS AT FAULT; HOWEVER; WHEN I ASKED IF THEY COULD RULE OUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT THIS WAS AN IMPENDING REVERSER DEPLOYMENT; THEY WERE RELUCTANT TO DO SO. THE REVERSER CHKLIST ALLOWED FOR A CONTINUATION TO DEST IF NECESSARY. THIS OPTION WAS DISCUSSED AMONG THE CREW. CONCERN WAS EXPRESSED ABOUT THIS COURSE OF ACTION. AS WE WERE FACING A LONG FLT OF 4 HRS INTO POSSIBLE IMC CONDITIONS AT DEST; IN AN ACFT WITH A HISTORY OF ABNORMAL THRUST REVERSER INDICATIONS THAT PREVIOUS TROUBLESHOOTING HAD THUS FAR NOT RESOLVED; I MADE THE DECISION THAT THE PRUDENT COURSE OF ACTION WOULD BE TO MAKE THE SHORT FLT BACK TO ZZZ WHERE THE THRUST REVERSER COULD BE LOCKED OUT AND DEFERRED. NO FUEL DUMP WOULD BE REQUIRED AND THE ENTIRE CREW WAS READY AND ABLE TO CONTINUE WITH THE FLT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. MAINT CTL DID NOT DISAGREE WITH THIS ASSESSMENT. FLT CTL WAS INFORMED OF THIS DECISION. AN ARTR (AIRBORNE RE-RTE RELEASE) FOR A CHANGE IN DEST WAS OBTAINED VIA ACARS DURING THE DSCNT. ATC WAS INFORMED THAT WE REQUIRED A CLRNC TO ZZZ FOR MECHANICAL REASONS BUT THAT NO EMER WOULD BE DECLARED. ONCE THE ACFT WAS HEADED BACK TO ZZZ; THE DECISION WAS MADE TO SECURE THE #1 ENG AS A FURTHER PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE. THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED DURING THE DSCNT AND ATC WAS ADVISED. FLT CTL SENT AN ACARS MESSAGE ASKING IF AN EMER WAS BEING DECLARED AND IF THE ENG WAS BEING SECURED. WE RESPONDED VIA ACARS THAT THE ENG HAD BEEN SECURED AS A PRECAUTION BUT THAT AN EMER HAD NOT BEEN DECLARED. AN UNEVENTFUL 3 ENG APCH AND LNDG WAS MADE IN VFR CONDITIONS TO RWY 17R. THE FLASHING REVERSER IN-TRANSIT LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED THROUGHOUT THE FLT AND WAS STILL ILLUMINATED WHEN THE ACFT WAS TURNED OVER TO MAINT ON RAMP XA. AS TO WHETHER OR NOT AN AIR TURN BACK WAS WARRANTED UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES WILL NO DOUBT GENERATE CONSIDERABLE DEBATE. AT THE TIME; WE FELT THAT WHILE IT MAY BE VIEWED AS CONSERVATIVE THINKING; IT WAS THE MOST PRUDENT COURSE OF ACTION. I ACCEPT FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS DECISION AND WOULD LIKE TO COMMEND MY CREW ON THE PROFESSIONALISM THEY DISPLAYED IN THEIR PERFORMANCE OF THESE ABNORMAL PROCS. THE THRUST REVERSER DISCREPANCY WAS ENTERED IN THE ACFT LOGBOOK. AS I WAS COGNIZANT OF THE IMPACT AN AIR TURN BACK CAN HAVE ON SVC; I WAS INTERESTED IN GETTING THE DEFERRAL ACCOMPLISHED AND PROCEEDING ON TO DEST IN THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF TIME. IT IS PARTLY BECAUSE OF THIS MINDSET THAT I FEEL I COMMITTED MY GREATEST ERROR. MY FOCUS WAS ON THE THRUST REVERSER ISSUE AND MY ATTN WAS DIRECTED TOWARD FINISHING THE MISSION. THE FACT THAT THE ENG WAS SHUT DOWN WAS A PERIPHERAL CONSEQUENCE OF THE ORIGINAL ABNORMAL AND I INADVERTENTLY FAILED TO MAKE THE REQUIRED LOGBOOK ENTRY AS REQUIRED IN THE FOM. I KNOW BETTER BUT ALLOWED MYSELF TO BECOME DISTR BY OTHER ISSUES. THE DEFERRAL WAS ACCOMPLISHED AND WE DEPARTED AGAIN TO ZZZ2 2 HRS AND 52 MINS AFTER OUR ORIGINAL BLOCK TIME. UNFORTUNATELY; DUE TO MY OVERSIGHT; THE REQUIRED INSPECTIONS; POST ENG SHUTDOWN; WERE NOT ACCOMPLISHED. I ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS OVERSIGHT AND HOPE THAT THIS WILL SERVE AS A REMINDER TO OTHERS TO NOT ALLOW DISTRS TO INTERFERE WITH THEIR REQUIRED DUTIES. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 720819: PRECAUTIONARY INFLT ENG SHUTDOWN WAS ACCOMPLISHED; BUT WAS NOT NOTED IN THE LOGBOOK AS REQUIRED IN THE FOM. WE SIMPLY MISSED IT. I BELIEVE WE WERE SO CONSUMED WITH BEING ABLE TO JUSTIFY OUR AIR-TURN-BACK; THE LOGBOOK WRITE-UP FOR THE ENG SHUTDOWN WAS OMITTED. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR ACN 720819 REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR AMPLIFIED ON HIS WRITTEN RPT TO INCLUDE THE FACT THAT THE REASON FOR THE SHUTDOWN WAS A REVERSER UNLOCK INDICATION. THE RPTR CLARIFIED THAT THE INTENT OF THIS RPT WAS TO NOTE THAT THE DISCREPANCY WAS ENTERED IN THE LOGBOOK; BUT THAT THE ENG SHUTDOWN EVENT WAS OMITTED IN ERROR AS PER HIS ACR FOM REQUIREMENT.