Tr, you're quite right, you can control a tail rotor problem on a 135 quite well, even down to a run on, as long as she doesn't break away below 40 kts. Wind from the left is a good thing, which it was on the night.
Tr drive/control failure drills look for an airspeed of at least 70kts, once you've got out of the initial situation then you can see if you can achieve the 40 kts on approach or not. However what if there's the tail problem on reducing through 80kts, power pulled to try and get airspeed on, and it starts to go wrong? If you're spinning (eye witnesses), how long do you try and get airspeed over the fin? At some point, the twist grips have to be a consideration, and then you deal with the cards dealt, ie your going where your right foot is!
All of this didn't happen near to the pub, that's just where it all finished.
Until we have the gps info such as speed & height and switch positions, we have very little to go on. However, it still leaves us with the question of how the blades were not rotating on impact.
All the above is well and good if the ac is complete, but are there any thoughts on whether the tail might have partially separated pre impact?