Ernst Hanfstaengl, close confidante of Hitler, defected to the Allies after Hitler played a bad practical joke on him!

Ernst fell out of favor with Hitler in 1933. To teach him a lesson, Hitler put him in an airplane with secret sealed orders that he was not supposed to open until he was in the air.

The orders said he was flying into then-hostile Spain. He would be be parachuted down and work with Francisco Franco. By all accounts, he would most likely die. He claimed that he talked to the pilot into letting him free. However, others say it was just a practical joke.

Apparently, the true story is that the plane wascircling Germany. Hitler was just trying to scare Ernst into thinking they were getting closer to Spain. At the end of the 'prank,' the plane safely landed back in Germany.

Despite this, Ernst was so upset that he defected to Switzerland, then to England, and ended up in the U.S. where he gave valuable information about 400 Nazi leaders and details about Hitler and his personal life. 

(Source)