It is a common practice to back up systems to tape drives. They are fast, convenient and are high capacity. However, tapes can fail for the same reasons as other magnetic media. Data Recovery Services has recovered tapes that have become corrupt due to many situations.
Including:
Physical damage
Back up Failures
Water damaged tapes
Overwritten Tapes
Smoke or Chemical Damaged Tapes
Intentionally damaged tapes
Broken Tapes