Heliweb has an article suggesting separation of the tail before impact with the ground. Part of the article reads:
"At 4:50 PM witnesses reported seeing the helicopter spiral out of control, with one witness stating that he heard the aircraft having trouble and looked up to witness the helicopter spinning out of control before going inverted and disappearing from view behind trees. Images from the scene showed the Bell 407 helicopters tail wedged into a tree almost upside down, potentially supporting eyewitness accounts of the moments before the crash. The tail was found without fire damage, separated from the body of the helicopter, which impacted the ground a short distance away, bursting into flames."