diff --git a/drivers/iio/pressure/mpl3115.c b/drivers/iio/pressure/mpl3115.c
index d066f3c5a8a6..822b9e19688e 100644
--- a/drivers/iio/pressure/mpl3115.c
+++ b/drivers/iio/pressure/mpl3115.c
@@ -144,7 +144,14 @@ static irqreturn_t mpl3115_trigger_handler(int irq, void *p)
 	struct iio_poll_func *pf = p;
 	struct iio_dev *indio_dev = pf->indio_dev;
 	struct mpl3115_data *data = iio_priv(indio_dev);
-	u8 buffer[16]; /* 32-bit channel + 16-bit channel + padding + ts */
+	/*
+	 * 32-bit channel + 16-bit channel + padding + ts
+	 * Note that it is possible for only one of the first 2
+	 * channels to be enabled. If that happens, the first element
+	 * of the buffer may be either 16 or 32-bits.  As such we cannot
+	 * use a simple structure definition to express this data layout.
+	 */
+	u8 buffer[16] __aligned(8);
 	int ret, pos = 0;
 
 	mutex_lock(&data->lock);