Narrative:

During our initial climb-out at approximately 4;500 ft MSL; number 2 engine trust reverser indicated full sleeve extension. 'Rev' in green was indicated above the number two engine EPR gauge. I retarded the throttles and begin leveling the aircraft; while checking and confirming that indeed the number two-engine thrust reverser lever was fully down.we declared an emergency with ATC with our request to divert immediately to ZZZ and asked them to relay our intentions to company dispatch. Crash/fire rescue equipment was requested because the integrity of the aircraft was in doubt or could be compromised if the reverser had an un-commanded deployment. The only guidance in the 757/767 operating manual QRH is for reverser unlocked. This guidance was helpful; however our aircraft was indicating full sleeve extension. The aircraft did not exhibit yaw or buffet after the green rev light illuminated but we had no assurance that it would not occur. Therefore; it was prudent for us to land as soon as possible.a smooth descent was accomplished to minimize the potential for accentuating the situation any further. After the emergency was declared; the QRH procedure completed; divert notice and route change accomplished aircraft control was transferred to the first officer. I contacted the flight attendants; provided them a summary of the situation and instructed them to go through their short notice review. A ground evacuation was not anticipated. I made a PA to the passengers and advised them to follow the flight attendants' instructions as we prepared for landing. I briefed the approach and go-around for landing runway xxr and re-assumed pilot flying duties.the approach was uneventful except the localizer did not agree with runway location on the nd/map display. Localizer placed the aircraft one to one and half dots to the right of the runway on the nd/map display. After an alignment maneuver; we asked tower to confirm we were lined up for runway xxr. They confirmed we were and we told them that the localizer did not align us with runway xxr. They said they would look into it. At approximately 1;500 ft MSL the green rev light extinguished. Touchdown; rollout; taxi and shutdown were normal.according to maintenance there has never been in-flight green rev light occurrence in our fleet. Nonetheless; a QRH procedure for an in-flight thrust reverser deployment or full sleeve extension should be created. Further; if a crew is involved in an emergency; that crew should not be expected to fly until a determination is jointly made that they are [physically and mentally] prepared for flight. In some cases; depending on the severity of an event; the decision should be made for the crew. In our case; we were expected and pressured to run over to the next gate and fly another aircraft to our destination. This expectation of moving aircraft at all costs; without regard to the safety of the crew and the passengers that they will be flying; violates company operating procedures and federal air regulations. Just because you are legal to do something; doesn't make it smart!

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B757 flight crew experienced an inflight thrust reverser indication shortly after takeoff; declared and emergency and diverted to a nearby airport with longer runways for an uneventful landing.

Narrative: During our initial climb-out at approximately 4;500 FT MSL; number 2 engine trust reverser indicated full sleeve extension. 'REV' in green was indicated above the number two engine EPR gauge. I retarded the throttles and begin leveling the aircraft; while checking and confirming that indeed the number two-engine thrust reverser lever was fully down.We declared an emergency with ATC with our request to divert immediately to ZZZ and asked them to relay our intentions to company dispatch. Crash/Fire rescue equipment was requested because the integrity of the aircraft was in doubt or could be compromised if the reverser had an un-commanded deployment. The only guidance in the 757/767 operating manual QRH is for REVERSER UNLOCKED. This guidance was helpful; however our aircraft was indicating full sleeve extension. The aircraft did not exhibit yaw or buffet after the green REV light illuminated but we had no assurance that it would not occur. Therefore; it was prudent for us to land as soon as possible.A smooth descent was accomplished to minimize the potential for accentuating the situation any further. After the emergency was declared; the QRH procedure completed; divert notice and route change accomplished aircraft control was transferred to the First Officer. I contacted the flight attendants; provided them a summary of the situation and instructed them to go through their short notice review. A ground evacuation was not anticipated. I made a PA to the passengers and advised them to follow the flight attendants' instructions as we prepared for landing. I briefed the approach and go-around for landing Runway XXR and re-assumed pilot flying duties.The approach was uneventful except the localizer did not agree with runway location on the ND/MAP display. Localizer placed the aircraft one to one and half dots to the right of the runway on the ND/MAP display. After an alignment maneuver; we asked Tower to confirm we were lined up for Runway XXR. They confirmed we were and we told them that the localizer did not align us with Runway XXR. They said they would look into it. At approximately 1;500 FT MSL the green REV light extinguished. Touchdown; rollout; taxi and shutdown were normal.According to Maintenance there has never been in-flight green REV light occurrence in our fleet. Nonetheless; a QRH procedure for an in-flight thrust reverser deployment or full sleeve extension should be created. Further; if a crew is involved in an emergency; that crew should not be expected to fly until a determination is jointly made that they are [physically and mentally] prepared for flight. In some cases; depending on the severity of an event; the decision should be made for the crew. In our case; we were expected and pressured to run over to the next gate and fly another aircraft to our destination. This expectation of moving aircraft at all costs; without regard to the safety of the crew and the passengers that they will be flying; violates company operating procedures and Federal Air Regulations. Just because you are legal to do something; doesn't make it smart!

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.