One would assume the engineers did a run up as part of the release to service. Therefore I would be surprised if the problem would have shown itself on the ground.
I had an alternator failure climbing out of Guernsey IFR a couple of weeks ago, a bang and the LV light came on, I returned for an ILS and on examining the problem found the coil head had lost its bolts and come apart. Not a fault you would see on a walk around or during the run up checks.
I am not advocating skipping the checks in any shape or form, but I am saying that the more you do this the quicker it becomes to do them and to the inexperienced eyes it looks like nothing has been done. I am totally in tune with my aircraft, I fly it daily and I know every squeak and rattle on it and despite it being complex I find it like a twist and go. Power checks are done on the taxi. When you are departing IFR from a major airport you make sure the checks are done quickly and cleanly without holding anyone up behind you. Just the same as the airline crews do.
We have only heard one side of this story yet many are quick to judge.......