Abstract: A cassette tape transport mechanism is provided with a mechanism for quickly detecting the stoppage of a take-up reel, thereby causing a tape direction change cycle to be initiated before a significant amount of tape can form a jam during a tape eating condition. The number of tape direction changes within a predetermined time is also counted and compared to a reference limit to detect a tape eating malfunction. The tape may be automatically ejected and an error message sent to the taper player display, allowing the user to clean the cassette or the player mechanism to remove sticky substances that may be causing the tape eating condition.