Some poster said any tailrotor problem was unlikely in a career. Flying only from the middle of a runway, and no exteral loads, I'd say the risk is much lower but still there as witnessed by the incident in this thread.
correct, and sadly the real ramifications are poorly understood amongst many. I clearly recall talking to the handling pilot of the BHL AS332 that lost it's tail rotor following a lightning strike (G-TIGK) after the event and even in the cruise it was not recoverable, even ramming the collective through the floor, without the throttles being chopped. I think the expression "hanging in our straps looking at the sea (rotating in 3 axes) thinking this is it" was how it was explained. Other crews have talked of losing their headsets (I know- awfully careless!) in the ensuing gyrations.
Anyone who thinks it's a benign event to deal with is a fool who had no place flying pax in a helicopter!