Aubrey McClendon

OKLAHOMA CITY — Energy tycoon Aubrey McClendon earned a reputation as a pioneer, backing new drilling technology, building Chesapeake Energy into one of the nation’s largest independent producers of natural gas and accumulating a fortune that helped him buy part of an NBA team.

But McClendon also drew the scrutiny of federal investigators, who announced antitrust charges against him on Tuesday. Sixteen hours later, McClendon, 56, was dead in a fiery single-car traffic accident on an isolated road.