A Portuguese-born man has been awarded $400,000 after he was removed from an American Airlines flight because the crew believed he looked too much like a pair of Israeli passengers whom they considered a security threat.

Lawyers for John Cerqueira, an American citizen, said his lawsuit, which accused the airline of using violating his human rights through racial profiling, was the first of its kind to go to trial.

Mr. Cerqueira was removed by police along with two Israeli men sitting in the same row from a flight in December 2003 from Boston to Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The Israelis, whom Mr. Cerqueira did not know, had drawn attention to themselves by speaking loudly in a non-English language, according to court papers.

Mr. Cerqueira, who lives in Florida, claimed that he was removed from the plane with the other two because of their similar “color and physical appearance.” Staff refused to fly him home even after police decided none of the men posed a threat.

“Mr. Cerqueira was literally just sitting in his seat minding his own business, and he was removed from the plane and interrogated, detained for two hours for the sole reason that he appeared to be traveling with two passengers who were seated next to him. … He was caught up in it because of his similar appearance to them,” said David Godkin, Mr. Cerqueira’s lawyer.